“Then why haven’t you properly moved in yet?”
“I have.”
I gestured to the sheet that was covering what I thought was a tree.
“Oh that?” He laughed. “Nigel already has so much to dust. It’s just easier this way. Speaking of Nigel, he was worried sick too. You owe him an apology as well.”
“I’ll do that when I see him. But right now I need to go home and change before work.” I stood up.
“No need, Nigel brought all your things.”
“All my things?”
Tanner pointed to the couch I’d been sitting on.
I turned to look at the very familiar couch. “Is this my couch?”
“Yes. Nigel has a good eye for these things. As he put it, ‘a leather couch has no business being in photos to sell a family home.’ He let Bill know you’d need a few more things for the staging.”
“So my clothes…”
“All in your room here.”
Okay. “Well, I should probably go change.”
“I’ll be waiting. We can take my car to work. I’ll just have my driver drop you off first.”
I knew Tanner was trying to keep me safe. But I couldn’t be in his sight all the time. I left Tanner in the great room and wandered down the hall to the room I’d stayed in the other night. I swear the room seemed bigger. And everything but my couch was in it. Really, how did this room not look more cramped?
I opened up the closet to see all my suits, perfectly organized by color. Just the way they had been at my house.
“Mr. Caldwell,” Nigel said.
I jumped. “Nigel, please stop sneaking up on me like that.”
“Sorry, Mr. Caldwell. I just wanted to let you know that I’ve removed everything from your home and brought it here.”
I looked around. Actually there was one noticeable thing missing. All my paintings of Brooklyn. Probably because the room was locked.
It was like Nigel could read my mind. “Well, everything but the paintings, sir. They weren’t my taste.”
I looked over at him. Not his taste? Maybe he was just jealous that I’d been painting Brooklyn’s face and not his. If anyone else had seen them, I would have been embarrassed. Or worried they would think I was crazy. But Nigel was staring at me like he always did. And it didn’t seem like he thought I was weird or crazy. There was only love in his eyes. A little too much love. But still love. Or was that just the look of a man hoping to get a dick pic?
I cleared my throat. “Nigel, I’m going to need a minute.”
“Of course.” He stepped into the corner of the room and just stared at me.
“In private, Nigel.”
“Of course, Mr. Caldwell. I’ll be right outside the door when you need me. Don’t worry about calling for me. I’ll be back in exactly in one minute.” He bowed and left me alone.
I sighed and sat down on the edge of my bed. Yes, my bed. I guess I lived with Tanner now. And Nigel. That was a lot to take in. And I should have been thinking about that and the secret mission tonight with the hitwoman. But for some reason my mind was fixated on Kennedy. And the way she’d smiled when she chucked her slipper at my face. And the way she laughed. And the way she didn’t judge me when I cried.
I put my face in my hands. I shouldn’t have been thinking about her at all. So why couldn’t I get her out of my head?
I heard the door open and knew Nigel was staring at me. But I didn’t even care. It was better than him staring at me while I was naked again.
Chapter 29
Wednesday
Jefferson fell over as he kicked the ball, somehow sending the ball behind him. He was closer to getting it through the other goal post than his own. How the hell was he getting worse? I’d tried everything. I’d studied videos and read tips and tried to figure out if it was some kind of mental block. But I was seriously out of ideas.
Jefferson was a terrible kicker.
I ran my hand down my face with a sigh. Jefferson might go down as the worst kicker in the history of Empire High. And no one wanted that title. But how could I fix it if nothing worked?
My phone buzzed in my pocket and I pulled it out. There was a text from Tanner: “Ready and in place.”
I texted him back. “Where are you exactly?”
“At 7 o’clock.”
I looked down at my watch and another text came through.
“Not the time. The direction. At 7 o’clock means behind you.”
I laughed and turned around but didn’t see him.
Another text: “Sorry, more like 4 o’clock.”
I turned my head but only saw a homeless man sitting on the bleachers. The homeless man proceeded to stand up and wave frantically at me.
I squinted at him. Yeah, the guy in the frumpy clothes was Tanner alright. With a big fake mustache. I couldn’t help but laugh. It reminded me of all the times Rob had tried to convince me that Tanner was great at disguises. That he walked around the city in fancy suits and a man bun. If Tanner’s current ensemble and the fuzzy caterpillar sitting on his upper lip was any indicator, he was freaking awful at disguises.
Tanner texted me again: “So we’re both set. Only one loose thread. Where is stupid Robert?”
Super clever burn. “I told him to be here a little before practice ended. He’ll be here soon.”
“Practice ends in 20 min. Cutting it close if you ask me. He has no respect for top secret missions.”
I shook my head and turned back to practice. Maybe Jefferson was still struggling because I couldn’t ever focus anymore. At the beginning of the season, I had been daydreaming about Penny all the time. Then I started worrying about Poppy and Mr. Pruitt. And now I was thinking about Kennedy all day. Which made no sense, because I was probably 20 minutes away from being killed by a hitwoman. Kennedy should have been the last person on my mind. She should have always been the last person on my mind in that way. But seeing her again had been a breath of fresh air.
“Just kick the ball!” Smith yelled at Jefferson. “It’s not that hard.” Smith grabbed the football off the ground, placed it in the dirt, and then proceeded to kick a perfect field goal.
Fuck. I blew my whistle. “Sprints. Now.”
Smith turned to me. “But Coach…”
I blew my whistle again. I didn’t want to hear what smart remark he had. The last thing Jefferson needed right now was to feel even worse. Couldn’t Smith see that? “Everyone. Now.”
The whole team groaned. But they started to run back and forth on the field, because they knew if they didn’t, I’d just demand they do something even worse.
“What did the team do to deserve that?” Rob asked as he joined me on the sidelines.
“Roughing the kicker.” More or less.
Rob laughed. “That scrawny little guy? What the heck is he even doing on the team?”
I looked at Rob. Honestly, I had no idea what Jefferson was doing on the team. I had been trying to make his time at Empire High easier, but all I was doing was making it worse. All of that was suddenly in the back of my mind though because Rob was also dressed like a homeless guy.
“What the hell are you wearing?” I asked.
“A disguise.”
“I didn’t tell you to dress up.”