“Not nice.” I laughed. “Next time…go to…your room.”
Thunder pulled back the curtain, standing there completely naked, and I froze. My eyes were wide open, and I think my jaw dropped.
“No, Liz. My place is next to yours.” He leaned against the shower wall, the water pouring over his head and down his chest. “You know what? We should share a room. I’ll move my shit tomorrow.” He snapped the curtain back into place, not giving me a chance to respond. “How were the girls this morning?”
What did he ask?
“Yes,” I said, hoping it was right. Sometimes when I forgot the question, I answered easily, hoping the other person’s response would give me an idea of the conversation.
Thunder’s laughter bounced off the tiles of the ensuite. “Yes, the girls were hard on you?”
Oh, that’s what he asked.I smiled. Thunder was the only one who clocked that I always needed a minute or two. He’d never poked fun at me or made me feel anxious. He simply gave me a clue and waited.
“Good.” I licked my lips. “Shared stories.”
He made a noise, and then the water shut off. “Sabre should assign someone to keep tabs on them in a crisis. They’ll try that stunt again.”
They would, but I didn’t want to focus on how silly they’d been. The girls had honestly thought they were helping. I changed the subject, not wanting to discuss this anymore for right now. “How’s…Ger…ry?” All I knew was that he was downstairs. I had asked little more than that.
“Okay. He was bitching to anyone he thought would listen as we tried to get the kid settled.” He stepped over the tub, reaching over me for the towel that sat on the counter.
I was about to say something flippant, like he could have just asked me, when I heard a phone ringing. Thunder’s phone was probably in his jeans pocket in the bedroom.
“Do you—“ I went to ask if he’d heard it, but then the sound stopped. I thought it was my imagination, but the phone rang again. The edges of my vision curled in at the incessant sound.
“Liz.”Thunder.
I took a few deep breaths, knowing what was happening but unable to stop it. The sheer black curtain pulled over my vision as the edges met in the middle. I couldn’t see, and when I tried to raise my hand, it was dead weight. All I could do was sit and let this pass.
“Lizzie, are you busy?”Madalyn.
No.I couldn’t form the word. I didn’t want to be trapped in this scene from the past, but I was helpless as I heard my sister’s voice.
“I need your help.”
Stop. Please stop.No one listened to me.
“I need to run to the grocery store. Gerry invited a few of the lawyers over.”
I remembered asking her if he’d made another one of his stupid bets. Gerry was always the first one to pick “the winning team,” except he’d be wrong and would end up paying the price.
Madalyn had gone to the store, and I’d tried to help as much as I could while she was gone. I’d never forget the exact time the police knocked on the door—3:17 in the afternoon. They explained they had contacted Gerry, but he hadn’t been in the office, and this was the next best address.
My whole body shook, and when my vision cleared, the light was so bright, I couldn’t see. Blinking a few times, I couldn’t right myself, but tears were pouring down my cheeks.
“Hey. Hey. It’s okay.”
I couldn’t breathe, an enormous weight sitting on top of my chest.
“Liz, it’s all right.”
Screams echoed around me, and I tried to put my hands over my ears. It was too loud.
“Liz.”
Bobby.I tried to stick with Thunder when we were in public or when I needed a reminder that he was my friend. I only used Bobby when I needed the man, not the biker.
I must have said it out loud because he answered me. “I’m right here. You’re safe.” My vision focused, and all I could see was his concerned face. “Hey, whatever it is, it’s alright. We’ll get through it.”
