Seventeen
Stella
I startle awake, looking around my surroundings. The cabin. Basement bedroom. Right.
Allie is next to me in bed, wearing her eye mask that says Rise and Grind. Not wanting to disturb her since she stayed up later than me reading, I grab my zip-up hoodie and tiptoe out of the room. But I stop as I hit the top of the stairs, hearing noise coming from the kitchen.
I debate on tiptoeing back downstairs, but a large body blocks my view of the hallway.
“Stella,” Lou says. “Thought I heard something. Did I wake you?”
He’s in a pair of pajama pants and a T-shirt, thank God. I feared it might’ve been Kingston without a shirt and I’d just faint and free-fall backward down the stairs.
“No. I’m just an early riser.” I tuck the book I brought with me under my arm. I used to enjo
