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Either way, it felt like Nick was the answer, and I couldn’t wait a second longer to talk to him. The last thing I needed was for him to leave the country or go into deep hiding, so I had to catch him, especially now that we were practically neighbors.
And catch him was exactly what I headed out to do.
21
Sam Clark
This wasn’t the first date Rocky and I had been on, but that didn’t make getting ready for it any easier. Especially since Rocky told me it was now a double date, with another detective and his boyfriend. That surprised me at first, since I knew Rocky wasn’t exactly close with a lot of other people, but it did make me happy to see he was connecting with people at work. And I was excited to meet another couple, even though it did make me a little anxious. I ran around my tiny bedroom looking for a matching pair of socks while also trying not to mess up the hair I’d spent about five hours trying to gel into just the right position, where it looked like I cared but not “spent five hours moving individual strands of hair” cared, and I think I nailed it. Now I just had to make sure I didn’t make too many sudden movements and knock a strand out of place.
I found the missing sock and put it on, now having to spend the rest of my time looking for the sneakers I wanted to wear. They weren’t in the closet—trust me, I moved the pile of dirty clothes just to make sure they weren’t underneath—so I checked the next best place.
Under the bed. They were both there. I pulled them out and sat down on the bed, taking a breath. My door was closed, but I could hear Hazel chatting with Olive, our new roommate. She was a girl who loved new-age medicine and talking about The Bachelor, so she was a very welcome change to the situation we had been stuck in for so long now. I wasn’t entirely sure if she knew what had happened inside of these four walls, but I certainly wasn’t going to bring it up and neither was Hazel.
I gave myself one last look in the mirrored closet door. My blue-and-white plaid shirt camouflaged the wrinkles I couldn’t seem to iron out. My dark blue jeans were new, my mom having bought them for me after I showed up at their house in a pair of jeans that was four threads away from ripping down the back. And then there was the new underwear I had bought off Amazon. That was the star of the show, for sure. I couldn’t wait to see Rocky’s expression when my jeans came off and I was left standing there in my mesh jockstrap.
He’s going to start drooling.
At least, I hope he does.
In the living room, Hazel and Olive were sitting cross-legged on the couch, laughing as they shared different memes with each other. I loved hearing Hazel laugh. She may have been going through the absolute darkest period in her life, but my best friend always knew how to keep her spirits up and lift everyone else’s around her, too. They both looked my way when I entered, Hazel and Olive saying in unison, “Hello, handsome.” They looked at each other and laughed before sharing a high five.
“Hey, you two.”
“Give us a twirl,” Hazel said, spinning a finger in the air.
“In slo-mo,” Olive added.
I couldn’t help the laugh as I gave a slow twirl in the center of our living room, holding my hands up and sticking my butt out.
Olive and Hazel both cheered me on, everyone laughing by the time it was over. It felt good to laugh. We hadn’t felt happy in our own apartment for a long time. This felt different. It was like things were falling into place exactly where they needed to be. The bigger picture was forming, and it had us all smiling and having a good time.
We almost missed the knocks that were coming from the door.
Almost.
But then they got loud. Shaking the doorframe. We all stopped laughing, Hazel’s eyebrows coming together and Olive looking at the door like the SWAT team was about to bust through. I checked my watch. Rocky said he’d pick me up but not for another fifteen minutes, and besides, why would he be knocking so hard? We had a doorbell, and I didn’t have any missed calls on my phone. Hazel’s phone was on the counter, and it wasn’t budging, so I didn’t think she was expecting any hard-knocking visitors either.
I went to the door and looked through the peephole.
“What the…”
I opened the door. Standing there was Nick Ricks, Jesse’s sketchy best friend.
“Hello?” I said, confused as all hell. What did Nick want? We hadn’t seen him for what felt like months. Not since Jesse died.
