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“And you didn’t even know who the fuck you were. Your therapist has gone over this with you a million times.”
That didn’t mean it was any easier to accept.
“I need you to really listen to me,” he said with an urgency I hadn’t heard in a long time. “You would never hurt her or her kid. And until you believe that, you’re not going to accept the things that happened and learn to move on. She trusts you. There’s no fucking way she would invite you over if she thought there was even a chance you could hurt her or Parker.”
I didn’t say anything.
“Do you hear me?”
“Yeah,” I answered, though I still didn’t believe it.
“Go spend some time with her and remind yourself what it’s like to have a good time.”
I hung up, hoping I could get through this without being a total dick. I grabbed the lavender oil from the counter and put a few dabs at my temples. It helped fight the headaches when they got bad. Maybe Fox was a little crazy, thinking he could interrogate people with herbs and shit. But he was dead on in helping me get through the week of hell.
With my oversized sunglasses in place, I headed out the door into the dimming light. People looked at me funny around town when I had to wear them, but nobody ever said a thing. I climbed the steps to her house, but didn’t even get to the top when Parker ran out and flung himself into my arms. I thought for sure he would have forgotten about me by now.
“Jack!” he shouted, making me cringe at how loud he was. His voice echoed in my head, intensifying the headache and bringing on a bout of nausea. This was a mistake.
“Parker, come here,” Sky said softly, taking his hand and pulling him back from me. “Jack’s not feeling well, so we have to be quiet, okay?”
“Is he sick?”
“Yeah, baby. So we’re going to speak really softly, okay?”
“Okay, Mama,” he whispered. “I’m gonna get him an ice pack like Ido for you when you have a headache.”
“Thank you,” she whispered. The nausea subsided enough for me to look at her. I felt fucking pathetic for everything, but the way she was looking at me was anything but pathetic.
“Come on,” she held out her hand. “I have just the thing for you.”
Reluctantly, I took her hand and walked the rest of the way to her front door. I didn’t bother looking around. It was best if I kept my eyes closed. So, as soon as she led me to her couch, I sat down and blocked out the world. A cool pack smelling like lavender was placed on my forehead.
“Lay down,” she ordered, tugging me to the side of the couch. I expected to land on a pillow, but instead, her legs acted as my cushion. She pulled the sunglasses off, replacing them with the cool pack. Gently, her fingers ran through my hair, massaging my scalp rhythmically. I wanted to protest, but it felt so good, and actually seemed to be helping.
I heard her whisper something to Parker, but continued to block out all other sounds as I got lost in the way her fingers worked through my hair. My eyes grew heavy, something that hardly ever happened when I got a headache, and I found myself drifting off to sleep.
I rolled to my side,nearly falling to the ground when I hit the edge. My eyes sprung open and I stared at the carpet that didn’t belong in my house.
“Good morning.”
I sat up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes as I saw the sun rising outside. “Did I sleep here?”
“Yeah, I didn’t want to tell you to go home. I hope it was comfortable enough.”
“I slept like a rock,” I admitted.
“How’s your headache?”
“Gone,” I said, a small smile forming on my lips. “You have some kind of magic touch.”
“Well, sometimes when you let other people help, they can surprise you.”
She handed me a cup of coffee, then sat down on the other end of the couch, pulling one leg underneath her. The first sip of coffee was like nirvana. I wasn’t sure what she did to it, but it was freaking good.
“I’m sorry I passed out on you. Literally.”
“It’s fine. I watched TV and Parker was just happy you were in the house.”
