𝟎𝟏𝟎 ᵐⁱᵏᵉ ʷʰᵉᵉˡᵉʳ ˣ ᵒᶜ

019

"SO, WHATS THE DEAL WITH EL?"

"Hello, this is the Wheelers" Karen Wheeler picked up the phone "Oh, hello Delilah, how have you been?" She asked sweetly.

"I've been good,thank you. Can I talk to Mike?" Delilah asked the woman politely.

"Yeah, just a sec" she said softly before screaming
"Mike! Phone!".

"Hello?" Mikes voice spoke.

"It's 9:32. Where are you? I thought you were hanging out with me and El today?" She asked.

"Sorry, I... I was just about to call. I, um... can't see you today" he mumbled over his words.

"Why not?" Delilah asked.

"It's my Nana. She's very sick" he told her making the girl blink in confusion.

"But Hop said that your Nana was okay, that it was a false alarm?" She questioned.

"Yeah. That's... what... we thought it was at first,
but then she took a real turn for the worse. Yeah.
We think she might...die" he told her.

"What?" Another voice asked.

"Mom! Get off the phone! How many times?!" He shouted.

"Did Nana call?!" Mrs Wheeler asked in alarm.

"No, Mom! Just get off the phone!" He paused "Sorry about that. She's so upset, she's making no sense. Because we have to go to the nursing home.
To see Nana".

"Are you coming over after?" She asked.

"No!" He snapped before lowering his voice again "I mean, I... I just think... I need to be alone today.
With my... feelings?".

"Are you seriously lying to me?" Delilah asked.

"What? No. Friends don't lie" he told her before speaking really quickly "What, Mom? My mom's calling me. Better go. Talk to you tomorrow.
Miss you already. Bye!".

"Asshole" Delilah frowned, slamming the phone back into the wall.

"Mike is asshole?" El questioned.

Delilah sighed "He's lying to me".

Eleven and Delilah needed something else to do so they decided to go to Max to get some good boyfriend advice.

"Hi" El caught Max's skateboard underneath her foot.

"Hi?" Max questioned, El hadn't really spoken to her before.

"Can we talk?" Delilah asked her.

Delilah, Max, El and Hallie all sat on Max's bed.

"And then he said he missed me. And then he just hung up" Delilah paced the room in anger.

"He's a piece of shit" Max told the girl. "Mike doesn't have jack shit to do today, and his Nana obviously isn't sick. I guarantee you, him and Lucas
are playing Atari right now".

"But friends don't lie" Eleven added.

"Yeah, well, boyfriends lie. All the time" Max told the girls and Hallie nodded in agreement.