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“He beat up his brother,” I said, feeling vindicated.
“Put him in the hospital?” Grandpa asked.
“No,” I ground out.
“Why’d he beat Curtis up?” Nana asked.
“Because of me,” I said, not exactly clear on that. I hadn’t told him what Curtis had said to me until after they’d fought. “I think because Curtis didn’t look out for me.”
“Sounds like you didn’t tell anyone what was goin’ on,” my Grandpa chastised. “How was the boy supposed to look out for you?”
The words hit with the power of a sledgehammer. Maybe Draco was right and I was the cause of all the drama. He hadn’t known what his brother had said to me, but he’d somehow convinced himself anyway that Curtis had let me down—when the truth was, I wouldn’t have told Curtis a damn thing anyway. Shit.
“Go on and check your bacon,” Nana said to Grandpa, reaching back to pat his hip as his timer went off again. “Let’s eat.”
As he left the RV with a clean plate, I sat there, my mind picking through the events of the past couple of days. So much had happened that I felt overwhelmed with it all. Someone could argue that Draco and I’s new relationship wasn’t new at all, considering the history we had—but it still felt new. New, but not fragile.
Being with Draco was new because there was still so much to figure out, because our day to day lives hadn’t meshed yet and the situation was completely different from anything we’d had before, because I was afraid that at any moment he’d be gone. But it also felt solid. Like we’d been together for years. I knew his personality, his likes and dislikes, how he felt about his family and how he interacted with them, the way he treated his friends, the things that were most important to him and the things he didn’t give a shit about. I knew him inside and out and he knew me.
Bottom line, I needed some time.
“Can I stay with you guys for a few days?” I asked as my grandpa came back inside.
“You can stay as long as you want, baby doll,” he said gruffly. “You know that.”
“Your grandpa’s gonna have to stop walking around in his underwear,” Nana said as she set a platter of fried eggs down on the table. “But we’ll make do.”
“Aw, hell,” he joked, smacking the table lightly. “I didn’t even think of that. You’ll have to go.”
“Thanks,” I said, smiling.
“Eat,” Nana said, giving my shoulder a squeeze. “And then I’ll take you out on my favorite hiking trail.”
“I might need to borrow some shoes,” I replied, sticking my foot out from under the table.
“What the hell are those ugly things?” my grandpa asked.
I laughed and relaxed into my seat.
Chapter 14
Draco
“She’s gone,” Charlie said glumly, swinging her front door open. “I told you she was going to move out.”
“What do you mean she’s gone?” I asked, looking down at Kara’s pile of crap by the front door. “Her stuff’s still here.”
“She took off,” Charlie replied with a shrug. “She wasn’t here when I got home this morning. Her bag’s gone and she took her bathroom stuff.”
I didn’t quite believe what she was saying as I strode past her toward Kara’s bedroom. Where the hell had she gone? I’d left her apartment late as hell the night before and she’d already been in bed.
“She’s not here,” Charlie said, standing at the end of the hallway. “But you can check under the bed if you want.”
“I told her I was comin’ over this mornin’,” I said in disbelief. “She called you?”
“Yeah, right,” Charlie replied. “I’m persona non grata, remember? She hates me.”
“She doesn’t hate you.”
“Well, she’s super pissed, at least,” Charlie said, leading me into the kitchen. “You want coffee?”
“Sure,” I replied, leaning against the counter. “Where the fuck would she have gone?”
“Her parents’ place, maybe?” Charlie said, getting a couple of mugs out of the cabinet. “It’s not like she’s got a ton of friends.”
“I should’ve known she’d take off,” I said in frustration. “I shouldn’t have left last night.”
“How’d it go?” Charlie asked, handing me a cup of coffee. “I was asleep before you got back.”
“More like passed out,” I replied, making her shrug. “It went fine.”
“Really?” she asked sarcastically. “Doesn’t seem like it.”
“We’ll figure it out,” I said determinedly.
Charlie sighed. “I love you both, D, you know that.” She paused. “But is there really anything worth figuring out at this point?”
I looked at her in surprise.
“Hear me out,” she said, leaning against the counter next to me. “You’ve been fighting for a long time for something that Kara seems incapable of giving you for whatever reason.”
“You’re saying I should just walk away?” I asked quietly.
“I’m saying,” Charlie said tiredly, “maybe you should just weigh the cost and benefits of chasing after Kara anymore. If she hasn’t told you she’s all in by now, are you just going to stay on this shitty ass carnival ride forever?”
