AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Yeah,” I mutter, walking away. Dragging my hair back from my brow, I try to come up with a plan.
I just drop into my car when my cell rings. Hope that it could be Kat floods me a beat before the dread hits.
If she gets to D first then…
I breathe a sigh of relief when I pull it out and find my assistant manager’s name staring back at me.
“Yeah, what’s up?” I bark.
“I know it’s last minute, but is there any chance we could switch shifts? My missus is stuck at work and I’ve got the kids and—”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s great actually,” I say glancing at the clock on my dash.
“Awesome, I owe you.”
Thoughts of Kat in my house waiting for me just as I described fill my mind.
I’m pretty sure I actually owe him.
Killing the call, I pull up our conversation and quickly tap out a message telling her that I’m going to be getting off earlier than expected, give her the location of the key and some very specific instructions for how I want to find her.
Fuck. This is going to be the longest shift ever.
23
KAT
It’s weird being in Styx’s place alone.
Any other day, I might have snooped for clues about him. But I’m emotionally exhausted.
Mom wasn’t in a good way today. Her face was taut with pain, her murmurs of agony filling the house.
Aunt Cassie and Diesel were there, trying to help her get comfortable. They managed to get her into bed and settled but it broke me seeing her like that.
I’d grabbed an overnight bag and got the hell out of there.
I knew Diesel would be pissed but he doesn’t get it; he doesn’t get how terrified I am about losing her.
She’s my mom. The woman who gave birth to me and raised me. She’s the woman who should get to see me happy, married, with babies of my own. I don’t like to look into the future a lot because I can’t imagine one without her in it. That used to feel like a long way in the distance but now it feels like it’s right there. Closing in a little more every day.
And it breaks my fucking heart.
So I don’t snoop. I don’t even take a tour of Styx’s place. I find a spoon for the pint of ice cream I brought with me, grab the blanket off the back off his couch and get comfortable.
When my cell phone pings, a faint smile traces my mouth.
Styx: Taking longer than I anticipated. You good, Kitty Kat?
Kat: Yeah, made myself at home.
I snap a quick selfie of me licking the spoon and send it to him.
Styx: Fucking hell, baby girl. How do you expect me to work with that image imprinted in my mind?
Kat: I’m feeling kinda beat. If I’m asleep when you get home, promise to wake me?
Styx: I can think of one or two ways, yeah…
