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She picked up an imaginary sledgehammer and took a swing at his fortress. “When?”
His gaze narrowed. “Penny,” he started, zipping his pants.
“When? Your last girlfriend. When did you break up?”
“Junior year in college.”
“How old were you?” she pressed.
“Twenty-one.”
Twenty-one.
“Gage. How did your mother die?”
He’d been in the middle of buttoning up his shirt, but he stopped, his eyes locking with hers. His shield had fallen away completely, and she had to swallow down the lump in her throat when faced with the raw, unbearable pain she saw there.
Gage didn’t respond for a long time, so long that she thought he wouldn’t.
Especially when he bent over to grab his socks and shoes, not bothering to put them on. He turned toward the door, and she knew this was it. Knew by the way he held himself that he was never coming back here.
He paused just on the threshold, but he didn’t turn to look at her.
Instead, he simply said, “She killed herself,” before leaving for good.
* * *
Penny sat on the couch, absentmindedly petting Harry while trying to summon the energy to get up and make something for dinner. Aunt Berta’s lasagna had gotten her through the weekend, allowing her to wallow in self-pity and cry her eyes out without having to leave the sanctuary of her apartment.
On Monday, she somehow managed to pull herself together enough to go to work. Mercifully, her job was challenging, so she could throw herself into it without having to think about anything else. For ten blessed hours—she’d put in overtime—she figured out a way to shut the real world out and lose herself amongst the code, the data.
Her trouble began when she left work and went home. It was the hours between dinner and breakfast that left her with too much time to reflect, to feel. For the past three days, she’d been riding on Fruity Pebbles, sugar-free Red Bull, and precious little sleep. She felt like a zombie.
No, she decided, a zombie would probably feel better than this.
Today had been her annual review, and she’d expected it to be the first time she would have to face Gage since his departure last Friday night. As such, she’d been a bundle of nerves by the time she’d approached his office, her hands visibly shaking.
She could have saved herself the anxiety. Because Gage hadn’t been there. Instead, Matt had done the review and given her a raise so big, she’d thought he’d screwed up his accounting—and pointed it out to him. Part of her worried the huge compensation was Gage’s attempt at making up for hurting her. But Matt had assured her the math was correct. Then he’d gone on to praise her work, discussing how he’d like to see her position grow within the company. She’d tried very hard to be professional throughout the review, but she was afraid the best she’d managed was subdued. It didn’t help that she kept trying to get a read on Matt, trying to determine if he knew about her and Gage. Sadly, the man’s poker face was rock solid.
If the meeting had happened a month ago, or even a week ago, her feet wouldn’t have touched the ground, and she would have called every single person she knew to tell them all the complimentary things he’d said. As it was, she hadn’t even bothered to text her parents with the good news.
She sighed when someone knocked on her door. Company was the last thing she was up for, so she ignored it.
Whoever it was knocked again.
“Penny,” she heard her brother call from the hallway. “I know you’re home. I saw your car parked outside.”
She pushed herself up, fully aware she’d have to have this conversation at some point. She hadn’t called Jess this weekend, and she hadn’t answered the phone when her friend called.
Penny opened the door and offered Rhys what she hoped wasn’t too weak of a smile.
“Aw, kiddo,” he said, stepping inside, shutting the door behind him, then instantly wrapping her up in one of his amazing, comforting hugs.
She thought she’d cried herself out this weekend, certain there couldn’t be a single tear left that she hadn’t shed. Rhys managed to find a few more. He didn’t say anything for a long time, just let her hang on to him until she was able to pull herself together.
When she lifted her head from his chest, he wiped her cheeks with his thumbs. “Better?”
She shrugged.
