Free Never Let Me Go by Jasmine Carolina Page B

standing up. She grabbed her bags up off the floor and started walking.
    I skipped so that I was behind her, grinning at the fact that I was able to tickle and surprise her at the same time. “So, who were you texting?” I asked, my eyebrows wagging up and down. “You sending flirty dirty text messages to Colin? I promise I won’t tell anyone.”
    She averted her eyes, and then pointed at the Cinnabon sign.
    “Let’s split a cinnamon roll!” Nickayla walked right over to the stand, ordering a large Cinnabon and two bottles of cold milk.
    It wasn’t lost on me that she had avoided my question. That either meant that she was sending dirty text messages to Colin, or she was talking to Brody. It didn’t matter to me one way or another—I just enjoyed teasing her.
    I pulled out my cell phone and pulled up the Facebook app. I had about two notifications and one message. It was from my dad, and I opened it up to read it.
    From: James Taggaro
    Hey, princess. I heard from Alyson that you’re in North Carolina for the summer. I’ve been thinking about you, Michele, and Gemma and I wanted to invite you over to visit with your brother and sister. Call me when you get the chance so we can talk about when you’ll be back in California and we’ll arrange a weekend stay or something. Love you. My number is (714) 555-6785, and if you can’t reach me there, Gem’s is (714) 555-0943. I hope to hear from you soon!
    I typed out a response to the message. I had to admit, I was surprised that he’d messaged me, and that his wife actually wanted to invite me over to see the kids.
    Gemma and I hadn’t exactly gotten along in…well, ever. And when the twins, Charlie and Rose, were born, she did everything in her power to keep me from seeing them. I didn’t know why she disliked me, but she did. I didn’t know what to think about the invitation.
    Not to be rude, but if you and Gemma want me to come visit, I need to hear that from HER. She’s always had a problem with me and I won’t go somewhere that I’m not welcome. You have my number.
    I closed the messenger app and then I posted a new status.
    Spending the day at the mall with my bestest; this summer is going to be amazing!–with Nickayla Quinn
    I looked up from my phone to see that Nic was coming toward me with our Cinnabon and milk. I put my cell phone in my pocket, and crossed my legs.
    “God, this looks so good. I don’t know if I want to share.” Nickayla laughed, setting down the tray. She opened up the container and handed me a fork, taking a bite of the warm roll. “So I was thinking that after this, we could head over to See’s. I want to get Colin a pound of his favorite candy.”
    I nodded, taking a bite of the cinnamon roll for myself. “Okay, sure. Who were you talking to?”
    I was pulling out all the stops. If she was talking to Brody, I wanted to know about it. I was worried about him. I of all people, knew what his home life was like, and summers were the worst, especially if he couldn’t succeed in getting his siblings out of the city while they were out of school. No matter how I felt about him, he was still, first and foremost my friend. I had no doubts that we’d get back to that eventually.
    “No one special,” Nic said, her voice dripping with nonchalance. “Maybe after we finish shopping, we can take the bags to the car and see a movie or something? What’s out in theatres right now?”
    I rolled my eyes. “Nickayla, stop that.”
    “Stop what?” She flashed me her most innocent expression.
    “Stop avoiding my question.”
    “Avoiding what question?”
    “You know what question.”
    “I know nothing.” She shrugged, and I threw my hands into the air.
    “Nickayla!”
    I watched as she took a sip of her milk, flashing me nervous glances every few seconds. “Fine. I was talking to Brody. Are you happy now?”
    I grinned, taking another bite of the cinnamon roll. “Ecstatic, actually.” I paused. “So how is he?”
    She rolled her