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I swatted him with a dish towel. “Go.”
His eyes drifted toward the dining room table. “What are you working on now?”
“I’m still trying to figure out the lip gloss. I can’t get it the shade I want.”
“Keep at it. You’ll get there.” I gaped at him, surprised by his confidence in me. He rapped on the counter twice. “I’ll see you later.”
“See you,” I said, almost shyly. I didn’t want him to go and that spelled trouble.
He grabbed his leather jacket off the back of the sofa. Halfway to the door, he turned around and pointed at me. “Don’t forget tonight. Pizza. Beer.” He looked at me expectantly.
“The Walking Dead,” I grumbled.
“You got it.” He made a finger gun and winked at me as he pulled the trigger.
I gasped, shaking in fear, and the second the door clicked shut, I took another breath.
It was nothing, meant as a cute gesture, yet the move nearly sent me to my knees.
I stumbled to my bedroom, my heart beating so hard I could barely catch my breath. With shaky hands, I unplugged my phone where it was charging on the nightstand and dialed.
“Can you come over?” I choked out.
As soon as I got an okay, I hung up and collapsed on the bed.
Trish foundme curled up in a ball where I’d been since I called her.
“Baker?” She crawled in bed beside me and coaxed me to put my head in her lap.
“Sorry,” I said weakly. “You’ve got the food truck. And Ella.”
“Andrew has it covered. Sonya and Drew are helping him out.” She tried and failed not to smile at the thought of her husband with those two. But even their shenanigans couldn’t make me feel better. Her smile turned kind. “I’m glad you called.”
I shifted and closed my eyes as she stroked my hair. She knew everything about my past and had completely understood why that meaningless gesture had sent me into a tailspin when I spilled out what happened. I needed my best friend and was beyond grateful she’d come when I called, no questions asked.
“It was nothing,” I mumbled. “But last night . . . and he didn’t mean anything by it this morning.”
“Did you tell Holt?” Her fingers stilled for a moment.
Panic filled me at the thought of him ever knowing what I’d been a part of. It had been hard enough to tell her. “No. I can’t do that.”
She paused as if collecting her thoughts. “Take it from someone who tried to hide her truth. The longer you do, the worse off you are.”
“Just because he’s my roommate doesn’t make him entitled to my secrets.”
“You’re right. But I think we both know he’s more than that.”
I hugged my knees closer to my chest. “I’m scared.”
“Falling in love can be that way.”
I sat up straight, eyes bulging. “I’m not in love with Holt.”
“Not yet.”
I furrowed my brow and dropped my head back onto her lap. “I don’t deserve to be here. Those people . . . I see their faces. I don’t want to think about any of it, but it’s wrong for me to forget.”
I shuddered. The vision of their fear was so vivid. I tried to make them disappear now but they wouldn’t.
