Page 49 of Run to Me

“It’s just a few scratches, Miggy. My face will heal.”

“Oh, thank god. I was ready to buy you a mask!” he cries.

Graham steals the phone because we never know what will come out of Miguel’s mouth. He’s worse than I am in tense situations. We navigate uncomfortable seas on a high-powered jet ski of sarcasm and inappropriate humor, which most people find offensive.

“Maisy,” Graham says, his tone thick with worry. “Tell me you’re okay.”

“I’m okay.” I force a smile and announce to the room, “Everyone, I’m fine. Don’t ask me again.”

I’m not the least bit fine, and Marcus’s narrowed gaze calls my bluff. He misses nothing.

“How can you be so calm about this?” Jake asks, his eyes wide with incredulity. “Someone hurt you, Maisy.”

“I’ve already processed what happened. Let’s put it behind us.”

They gawk at me like I’ve sprouted a few extra heads. Perhaps I’m in shock, and my mind isn’t ready to accept what my body already knows. I was assaulted…twice in one day.

“So what happens now? If you’re off the project, what’s next?” Tatum’s been gripping my trembling hand this whole time. Bless her for not exposing my anxious state to the rest of the group.

Graham reminds me of our living situation. “We only have the house for two more days. Are you coming home?”

He’s referring to California as my home. Despite living there for nine years, it’s not. In truth, nowhere has ever felt like home to me. But he poses the million-dollar question. Where will I go? With no work lined up, and Tatum moving back to Walford for good, that leaves me and the four Cali boys. I love them with my whole heart, and I know I can find other projects in California, but I don’t have to live there to work there.

Plus, there’s the Vera situation. She needs help, and as much as I don’t want to be the one to suffer alongside her, she doesn’t have anyone else. I won’t leave the burden of her care on Jensen’s shoulders. He’ll run himself ragged trying to do everything. The problem is, I cannot live with Vera. Apart from getting my own place, I’m low on options. Unless…

“Can I stay in your room at Pam’s?” I ask Tatum. “I assume you’ll be living with Jake now.”

“Hell yeah, she is,” Jake says.

Tatum’s jaw drops. “You want to go to Walford?”

“Not at all. But I need to. Vera’s having health issues, so I’ll stick around until I can get her sorted.”

“Are you sure?” This comes from Graham, and when I glance at the phone screen, the smirk on his lips makes me want to hang up on him.

“I’m sure.”

“This is a mega decision, but I think you’re making the right call. I’m mega proud of you.” He winks at me and laughs at my best effort to scowl with a scabby face.

“You two with your secret code language,” Tatum says. “I swear you were identical twins in a previous life.”

She hates not knowing what’s going on all the time. Graham and I will carry an inside joke for months just to mess with her because she’s so adorable when she gets mad.

“Some lady has walked by three times since we sat down,” Jake says, staring out the window.

Judge springs from the couch and peeks through the blinds. Whatever he sees, he shares a look with Marcus and nods, then they both look at Jake with similar, odd expressions that resemble a modicum of respect, until Jake opens his snarky mouth and ruins it.

Shrugging at Marcus, he says, “What? Someone has to do your job.”

“He has a death wish,” I whisper to Tatum. Her bulging eyes ping between a fuming Marcus and a smirking Jake. “Marcus is gonna kill him before your wedding.”

Miguel’s voice chimes through the phone’s speaker. “I don’t handle blood very well. Angel, call us later.”

“I will.”

The call disconnects just before Marcus pops. “Judge!” he barks. “Get Tatum and this asshole back to Walford. I’ll stay here and drive with Maisy tomorrow.”

“You don’t have to⁠—”