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“I know, but I need to say it again. I’m sorry about Troy, and I’m sorry for my behavior. I’ve been acting childish. I’m so used to dealing with Amber, walking on eggshells around her, that I’ve been avoiding you without saying what’s on my mind. I was worried I’d say the wrong thing, and you’d feel rejected and hurt, but that’s my fault. I see how strong you are.”
“Really strong.”
I squeeze her. “Of course. I don’t know how the hell you bought a bunch of junk from a store and sold it all to some suckers online.”
I laugh. “You sure are.”
Her finger traces circles on my chest before she asks,
Damn, that’s a tough question. Makes my chest heavy. That she has to ask means I’ve failed on so many levels.
Before I can respond, she adds,
“History. Know someone long enough to see that they don’t lie or keep secrets. That they keep their word. After you build history, you’ll feel confident that they won’t hurt you on purpose. Sometimes it happens by accident.”
Her body tenses.
“Depends on the secret.”
“Have I made you feel you can’t trust me?”
Her fingers are in the grooves of my abs as if trying to memorize each path.
“If you trust me, why didn’t you tell me about his girl? He brought her over more than once, didn’t he?” I don’t get it. Why cover for that asshole?
“Depends on why you kept it.”
Her hand stops moving, falling against my abs. She taps her phone heavily.
What’s this about carpet? Doesn’t matter. Her words are shredding me. I roll onto my side and surround her with my arms, pulling her tight against me. “Don’t do that.”
She wrestles an arm free so she can touch her phone.
“Don’t keep something like that from me because you’re worried about money. You are way more important than bills and whatever happened to the carpet.” I hold her, and she doesn’t budge. After a few moments, the front of my shirt is wet, a small wet patch right where her face presses against my collarbone. I lift her chin and kiss away a tear on her cheek. I open my lips to say out loud what I can no longer deny. “You’re important to me.”
Her expression contorts and her bottom lip quivers. She hides her face against me, so I just hold her. Hold her with a steady, reassuring embrace. If she needs me to, I’ll remind her a million times of her importance.
When she pulls away and rolls onto her back, I let her have space. After cleaning tear streaks on her skin, she says,
I clear my throat. Best to get it all out since I’ve come this far. “I’m worried about Amber. She’s easily triggered with the anniversary of her accident coming up, and I realized tonight that I need to take this week off work to watch her. She’s been so freaked out, thinking she ruined your friendship. It’s not good for her to be this upset.”
Paige sits up.
“I had a feeling she didn’t tell you.”
Pressing a hand against my chest, she pleads,
