You Aren't Fine

Josie headed back inside in low spirits and Everett noticed. "Are you alright, Josie?"

No. She wasn't alright at all. She was about as far from alright as possible. But she couldn't say that because he might be curious why. 

"I'm fine," she lied before flopping back onto her half of the couch and trying to read a comic to make herself feel better. If only it actually worked. She only felt worse the next day because she saw calls from several other numbers with her old area code and had to delete the accompanying voicemails without even checking them. 

Unfortunately, she accidentally clicked on one the next day and had to listen to a couple of seconds of her mother screaming at her about being an ungrateful brat before she managed to quit fumbling and delete it. At least Everett had been in the bathroom when it happened. Hopefully, he hadn't heard.