Carly sighs and gently pushes me out of my room, toward the kitchen, and I plop down on one of the barstools, pulling my knees up to my chest. They both start pulling food out of bags, and I just stare at the pattern of the granite, their eyes boring into me.
“Are you okay, Hon?” Carly asks, and I shrug, looking up at her.
“I just feel…numb. Like I can’t quite believe that some stranger was looting through my most personal things but at night every little sound and every little shadow makes me jump, and I wonder if they came back.”
“Oh, Sweetie,” Izzy says, and when I glance over at her, she has tears in her eyes. “Come stay with me tonight. At least get one good night’s sleep, okay?”
I sigh and nod, giving in because I don’t have the energy to fight her on it, and I really could use some sleep. After we eat, Izzy goes into my bedroom and packs a few things for me, and as we walk out to her car, I glance over at Logan’s house, wondering if he’s missing me just as much as I’m missing him right now.
Chapter Nineteen
Alison
“You sure you’re okay?” Izzy asks from behind the wheel, and I turn to look at her, sighing as I nod.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Thank you for letting me crash at your place last night. Sleep definitely helped.”
She smiles. “Don’t mention it. You’re my bestie and there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you.”
I reach over the center console and hug her, thankful to have two really great friends in my life. When I pull away, she slumps back in her seat and looks in the rearview mirror.
“Any idea what you’re going to do about that?”
I peek over my shoulder just as Logan pulls out of his driveway on his bike and speeds past us. Sighing, I shrug. “No. I mean, what can I do if he doesn’t want this? I think I got way too ahead of myself and read into things that weren’t really there.”
“Not according to Carly. She saw the way he was with you yesterday.”
“Then why have I still not heard from him?”
She scoffs, crossing her arms over her chest as she looks out at the road. “’Cause men are fucking idiots. It’s a flaw in the grand design.”
“What is?”
“Giving something two brains. It’s bound to confuse the poor creature.”
A giggle bursts out of my mouth, and she flashes me a sly grin before turning back to the road.
“You might be on to something there,” I tell her, and she nods.
“I know I am.”
“All right, well, I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”
She uncrosses her arms and turns in the seat to face me. “You going to work tomorrow?”
“Yeah. Can’t hide out here forever.”
She gives me a sympathetic look and a hug before I climb out of the car and walk up the sidewalk. Izzy waits on the curb until I unlock the door and step inside. I turn around and wave to her, and she waves back before pulling away. Shutting the door behind me, the quiet closes in on me, and I take a deep breath, reminding myself that I’m okay, before setting my bag down and walking to the kitchen.
Izzy and I spent the day watching romantic comedies and eating junk food so I’m not all that hungry even though I missed dinnertime. I stare at the contents of my fridge for a moment before grabbing the bottle of wine and a glass from the cupboard. Just as I’m shoving the cork back into the bottle, my phone rings and I jump. My mom’s picture pops up on the screen of my phone, and I shake my head, scooping it up and pressing the green phone icon.
“Hey, Mom.”
“There’s my girl. How are you, Sweetie?”
I grab my glass of wine and sit down on one of the barstools, folding my legs underneath me. “I’m good, Mom. How’s everything back there?”
“Oh, same as always. Your father has decided that he’s going to build us rocking chairs but you know your father, they’ll never get finished. I may just steal his truck and sneak over to Cracker Barrel to buy a couple.”
I laugh and take a sip of my wine. “That sounds like a good plan, Mom.”
“Doesn’t it? How’s work?”
I realize that I forgot to tell her about that whole situation, and I gasp. “Oh, gosh, Mom. I totally forgot to fill you in on all that.”
I start telling her the whole story, starting at Mr. Klein putting me up against Chelsea to Mercedes cornering me in the coffee shop.
“Hold on a minute, isn’t Chelsea the little hussy that rubbed her tits on your father’s arm when we were there visiting you?”
I laugh and nod even though she can’t see me. “Yep, that’s her.”
She laughs as I tell her all about the final confrontation with Klein and Chelsea in his office. I don’t spare any details. My mom and I have always been close, and she’d never judge me for the choices I made.
“You should ask Izzy to slap a lawsuit against that man for what he did to you,” she says when I finish, and I chuckle.
“No, there’s no point. Besides, I’m probably doing better than he is now. The paper wasn’t doing well when Carly and I left.”
She squeals, and I pull the phone away from my ear for a second to save my eardrums. “I almost forgot. Tell me all about this new job.”
I start telling her about how Mercedes approached me that day and about my new job. When I get to the part about my article going viral, the line goes quiet.
“Good Lord, I forget to call you for a few weekends and you’ve got a whole new life, don’t you?” she asks, and I laugh.
“I suppose I do.”
“Anything else new? Got a new man in your life?” I pause, unsure of what to tell her, and she picks up on it immediately. “Spill, young lady.”
Sighing, I start to tell her about Logan and how we met. I spill my guts, explaining how weird it’s been and how unsure I am about what’s going on between us, and when I’m finished, she’s quiet again.
“Mom? You still there?”
“Yeah, I’m here, Honey. I’m just thinking.”
I chew on my bottom lip for a moment as I wait for her but my impatience gets the best of me. “Penny for your thoughts?”
“Well… I guess I’m a little surprised because it’s been so long since you felt anything for a guy but also, the way you talk about him – it’s like you’re in love with him. You never talked like this about a guy. Not even Adam.”
I scoff, almost falling off my stool. “Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t love Logan. I mean, I barely know him.”
“So? Your dad and I were only dating for six months when we ran off to get married. When you know, you know, Ali, and time doesn’t matter. Not really.”
I’m about to respond when something bangs against the back of the house, and my heart kicks in my chest.
“Hang on, Mom,” I whisper, setting the phone down as the fear runs rampant through my body. All I can picture in my mind is the faceless person lurking around my home, waiting to burst in. Grabbing a knife from the butcher block with a shaky hand, I slide off the barstool and creep toward the French doors in the back of the house.
Since the break-in, I’ve had the blinds drawn, and it hinders my view of the backyard, only increasing my fear as I draw closer and closer. My heart pounds in my ears, and my breath is choppy as I reach for the door handle, the knife held out in front of me. Taking a deep breath, I swing the door open and look out into the yard, seeing nothing. I can feel eyes on me, like there’s someone hiding in my bushes waiting until my back is turned to ambush me, and it sends goose bumps racing across my skin.