“Hey,” he said gently. “The vibes were off, and you didn’t stick around. Always trust your gut. And then call me. Promise me, Becca.”
I swallowed. “Okay. I promise.”
“I just came from your place,” he went on. “Everything seemed fine. No broken locks, nothing out of place.”
“Okay. Thank you. So I can go home?”
“Yes. You should be fine.” He watched my face closely. “If I need to loop anyone else in, I will. You alright with that?”
“Yes,” I said. “I trust you.”
Matt reached out and squeezed my shoulder. “I’ve got you, Bec.”
I nodded, blinking fast. “I know.”
He finished his coffee, then straightened. “I’ll let you get back to work.”
As he walked away, I leaned back against the shelf and let out a shaky breath.
Nothing had happened. But now someone else knew. And somehow, that made it feel more real.
Matt would keep me safe. He always had. But Levi—Levi made me feel not just protected, but understood. Like he didn’t need to fix me, he just wanted to stand beside me while I figured it out for myself. The difference settled in my chest like a quiet ache because I wanted both. But I also wanted neither. I wanted to be the kind of person who didn’t need anyone. But the part of me that remembered his cheek under my lips, the part that still felt his thumb on my knuckles, knew I was lying to myself.
Elizabeth came back with the kind of look that said she’d already decided I wasn’t getting out of this conversation. “You still look like hell,” she announced cheerfully, tying her apron back on. “I’m worried.”
“I’m touched,” I said. “And offended.”
She slid behind the counter beside me, eyes flicking over my face with practiced precision. “You’ve got the dark circles of someone who’s been arguing with their ceiling fan at three a.m.”
“I like to live dangerously.”
She snorted. “You like to live tired.” She let it go, but I could feel her filing it away for later.
The bell over the door chimed not five minutes after that, and I jumped hard enough that Elizabeth raised an eyebrow.
“See,” she said. “You’re jumpier than a cat in a rocking chair factory.”
“I’m just overcaffeinated,” I said weakly.
Harper walked in right on cue, Bella trailing behind her with her backpack bouncing and her hair coming loose from its ponytail. Bella waved like she’d spotted a celebrity.
“There she is!” Harper said, eyes already scanning my face. “Elizabeth texted me.”
Elizabeth held up her hands. “I didn’t tell her anything dramatic. I said you weren’t sleeping, and you look exhausted, and you won’t tell me anything.”
Harper leaned on the counter, studying me with that gentle, infuriating best-friend look. “You are not okay.”
“I’m fine,” I protested, too quickly.
Bella frowned. “You flinched when the door opened.”
“I did not.”
“You totally did,” Harper said. “Like—” She made a dramatic little jolt with her shoulders.
Elizabeth pointed at me. “That. She does it all the time.”
“I’m standing in a gas station all day,” I said. “I’m allowed to be tired.”
