“I’m perfectly fine. It’s this damned facility’s lack of funding that is the issue. What good is that fucking thing if it doesn’t work?”
“You’re right.”
“And don’t—oh, you’re agreeing with me. Don’t do that,” she hissed. “That makesme less mad.”
“And if you’re not mad, then you’re sad. Right?”
“Don’t counsel me.” She regretted the words instantly as Matty’s voice saying the same thing intruded into her mind. She swallowed hard.
“Do you want to talk about it or keep kicking the copier?”
She pressed her lips together hard, willing back the urge to cry. She was so tired of crying.
It had been almost a week since she found Matty walking in the rain. A week of barely hearing from the woman she had started developing feelings for. There were check-in text messages, but she hadn’t seen her but once, and it was so awkward. She wasn’t even riding home with Kerrie every day.
They were supposed to have a date night and work on GED stuff on Sunday, but Matty canceled. At first, Reese just thought Matty needed a little space, but the space was only growing. When she decided to make the first move by suggesting they spend the evening together on Wednesday, Matty had taken forever to reply, then just said she was going to a meeting. How could Reese argue with that?
Then there were the thoughts of what could have happened to cause her to be out in the rain in the first place. On the rougher side of town and with red eyes. Then basically hide from her. It was not like Matty at all. That scared Reese.
“Kicking the copier sounds easier.”
“Does it?”
She let out a long sigh and then plopped into a chair. “I don’t know what’s going on with Matty.”
“Oh? How so?”
She rolled her eyes. “You know it too. You’re just trying to get me to talk.”
“This would be a lot more productive if you’d turn off counselor mode and let me do it.”
“I don’t really want to do this.”
“No one does, but we can’t afford a new copier, and if you don’t have an outlet, you’ll turn on me and the guys.”
“I wouldn’t take it out on the clients,” she corrected quickly.
“Great, so just me.”
Her shoulders slumped. “Has Matty said anything about last weekend?”
“No, but she’s been keeping to herself for the most part. All I know is I didn’t have to pick her up because you dropped her off.”
“So you knew where she was?”
Kerrie nodded. “Yeah, I dropped her off at her grandmother’s house.”
Reese frowned. Her thoughts turned to more worry. “Her grandmother’s house? That’s not a safe place for her. She said in Leadership that her Grammy and cousin were not good for her. This makes it even worse. I thought, I mean, I worried that maybe she was, um, well, her eyes were red and she wasn’t talking. She was so closed off.”
Kerrie nodded. “You thought she might have been using?”
“It crossed my mind.”
“Look, it’s not my place to talk about Matty’s business, but I don’t think that was the issue. Have you tried reaching out to her?”
She nodded.“Yeah, I suggested we hang out on Wednesday, but she went to a meeting.”
“Maybe she needs a little time. I wouldn’t give up on her. She really does like you.”
