I lifted my trembling hand and pointed toward the stairs. “His bathroom,” I croaked. “He’s locked himself in.”
Phil moved first, picking me up off the floor before taking the stairs two at a time with Crissy and me hot on his heels.
I stumbled halfway up the staircase, my heel catching in the carpet runner. I paused briefly, just long enough to rip my shoes off and throw them down the stairs before heading back up to my father’s room. Phil was already outside the locked door, knocking, his calm, soothing voice attempting to coax my father out.
Crissy stood just inside the bedroom door, looking in my direction, waiting for me to catch up. Her face filled with sadness as she reached up and caressed my cheek, careful not to touch the spot where our father had hit me. “Are you okay?” she asked, tears filling her eyes and spilling over onto her cheeks.
“It’s not his fault,” I told her, my chest hitching on a sob. “He’s not himself.”
“I know, Will,” she whispered. “I know.” She took my face in her hands and pulled me close, resting her forehead against mine. It was something she hadn’t done since we were teenagers, and the tender move made my heart shatter.
I heard the bathroom door creak open and pulled away to see my dad had unlocked it and opened it just a crack. Phil was talking to him in a hushed tone that seemed to be working.
“Why don’t you head home?” Crissy suggested, drawing my attention back to her. “We’ll handle this. Go home and try to relax, maybe put some ice on your cheek.”
I wanted to argue, and she must have seen it on my face because she spoke again. “You do more than your fair share for him, honey. It’s our time to step up. We’ll take care of him. Calm him down, and take him back to our place for the night, okay?”
I didn’t have the energy to fight her. Not anymore. Instead, I nodded and let her pull me in for a hug before turning and heading back downstairs.
Moving on autopilot, I gathered up my shoes and purse from the floor and drove myself home. Once I got inside the door, the silence beat against me so hard it stole my breath. I didn’t want to be alone, not after what had just happened.
I could call Lark, but I didn’t want to interrupt her and Clay’s evening. Pulling my phone back out, I checked the time on the screen and realized barely an hour had passed since I last left her and Aurora. It felt like forever ago.
I scrolled through my contacts and hit call when I got to Aurora’s name.
“Hey there, my savory little pork dumpling.”
“R-Rora?” I stuttered as I crumbled. “C-can you come over? Something happened with my dad. I-I don’t want to be alone.”
She didn’t even hesitate.
“I’ll be right there, and I’m bringing an overnight bag, vodka, and ice cream.”
I might have failed when it came to my romantic life, and my family life might have been falling apart at that very moment, but at least when it came to my friends I was winning.
Chapter Nineteen
Stone
It was the Tuesday after that disaster of a family dinner, and I wasn’t feeling any better about myself or what I’d done to Willow.
After being laid into by pretty much my whole family, I’d sequestered myself in the kitchen just long enough to do the dishes—brownie points—and then get the hell out of there.
My guilt had been eating at me to the point I’d been calling Shane, trying to get her to talk to me. Of course, the bride of Satan wasn’t taking my calls. I’d told myself I’d done my part; I’d reached out. The next step was up to her. But the truth was, she wasn’t the relationship I needed to fix.
Lunchtime rolled around, and I decided to hop on my bike to make the short trek from Banks Body and Auto Repair to Elite Security to see if Jensen wanted to grab a bite. I could have called him and had him meet me somewhere, but I’d have been lying if I said I didn’t have ulterior motives for wanting to go see him directly. Specifically, a particular brunette I hadn’t been able to stop thinking about since that kiss that had rocked my goddamn world.
I could still taste her on my tongue days later. Christ, I’d thought her hair was silky before, but after having my hands tangled in it, I knew it was the softest thing I’d ever touched. She’s smelled like heaven, tasted like sugar, and felt like sin pressed up against me.
Fuck, I was so screwed.
I parked my bike in the empty spot closest to the entrance and headed inside. The relief I felt when I first walked through the door was short-lived. The cool air conditioning was a nice contrast to the heat outside, but the reception desk sat empty, the computer monitor black.
I stood rooted to the spot for a few seconds, looking around, waiting for Willow to appear out of thin air. When the reception area remained empty and quiet, I decided to head down the hall toward Jensen’s office.
“Yo,” I called out, knocking my knuckles against the wall of glass that made up the front of his office.
My brother-in-law lifted his head and waved me in. “Hey man, what’s up?”
I moved into his office, bracing my hands on the back of one of the chairs that sat facing him. “Not much. Just wanted to swing by and see if you wanted to grab lunch.” I hooked a thumb over my shoulder. “You know your reception area’s empty? Willow at lunch or something?”
He rocked back in his seat, making the chair squeak as he scrubbed a hand down his face. “Yeah, I know. Willow called in this morning. She’s out the next few days, and it didn’t even take us half a day before shit here started falling apart. I’m gonna have to skip lunch man, but thanks for asking.”
I didn’t hear anything he said after she’s out the next few days. “What happened?” I asked, my fingers clenching the back of the chair so hard the skin on my knuckles turned white. “Is she sick? She tell you what’s wrong?”
He arched his brow and gave me a flat expression. “You asking because you care? Because that really wasn’t the impression I got on Sunday. And I have to say, I’m not a big fan of you fucking with Willow. She’s a good woman. She deserves better.”
I couldn’t murder my brother-in-law. Shane would be pissed and Brantley would probably never talk to me again. “Yes, I’m asking because I care,” I gritted out between clenched teeth. “You know, I’m not a heartless prick. I fucked up. I know that. But I never meant to hurt her.”
He looked at me skeptically. “Whatever. If you must know, she’s said she had some personal things she needed to take care of. If it makes you feel better, it didn’t sound like she was sick.”
That didn’t make me feel any better. A voice in the back of my head was shouting out, desperate to know what personal things. Was she okay? Was it something with her dad? Did she need someone to take care of her?
But I didn’t have the right to know the answers to any of those questions. Hell, I didn’t even have the right to ask them, because I’d fucked everything up.
“Okay, well then I guess I’ll head out and leave you to it.” I started for the door, but before I could take a step out, my body turned back around like it was functioning without any authority from me. “If you hear anything—”