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“Oh yeah, then where is he?” Penny questions, crossing her arms in front of her and raising an eyebrow. “Christa Cook saw you two sucking face on your porch before you disappeared inside here last night when she was walking her dog. She said he never came back out before she went to sleep. He spent the night, and you woke up alone, didn’t you?”
Jesus, sometimes I really hate small-town life.
“He’s…”
Shit. I don’t know where he is.
It’s fine though. It’s not like he left town. I no longer have the same fears I used to about him ghosting me. Especially after last night. Not after the promises he made me. It’s ridiculous I’m even worrying right now.
I’m sure whatever he’s doing is no big deal. He probably had to do something at the bar. My eyes stray over to my cell phone charging on the counter, and my chest starts hurting a little bit that there aren’t any missed calls or text messages. If it was no big deal, he would have at least sent me a message so I wouldn’t worry, right?
My heart starts pounding harder even as a vague, sleepy memory of Ford’s cell ringing this morning starts coming back to me. I remember opening one blurry eye and seeing my alarm clock said 6:05 a.m. I heard Ford growling at Marcus for calling again and wanting more details about what happened last night. I remember laughing into my pillow that he was calling again. I finally answered Ford’s phone last night after Marcus called at least ten times and told him that Ford couldn’t come out to play right now, because it was past his bedtime. Ford took the phone back from me and ended the call right in the middle of Marcus screaming happily.
I also now remember Ford leaning over me and kissing me on the head after that call earlier, whispering that he had to take care of something and would be right back.
“He had to take care of something, and he’ll be right back!” I quickly shout, happy I remembered he didn’t just leave me without saying a word.
Except he didn’t come right back. He’s been gone for four hours. Now I’m starting to worry that whatever took him away from me actuallywasa big deal, and those words Penny said about me not being good enough for the other parts of his life make the nerves start knocking around in my stomach again. I set my coffee mug down on the counter next to me to wipe my sweaty hands off on Ford’s shirt.
The shirt that still smells like him, that he left balled up on my floor.
He left so fast he didn’t even put on his shirt?
It’s fine. Everything is fine.
“Oh, he had to take care of something, all right.” Ginger scoffs, pulling me out of my thoughts.
“We all know what it looks like when a woman’s world has been rocked, and she’s so dick-dazzled she doesn’t even realize she’s been screwed over,” Penny adds.
“Oh my God,” I mutter, dropping my head into my hands.
“Don’t be embarrassed, sweetie,” my mom reassures me. “I’ve gotten plenty of dick since your father died. We can discuss this like mature adults.”
“No, no, we cannot,” I groan, dropping my hands and lifting my head with a wince. “I want nothing more to do with this conversation. I’d like to be able to sleep again without screaming nightmares.”
“Can we get to the point of our visit, please? We’ve got some revenge to enact.” Penny rubs her furry hands together, and a familiar glimmer of excitement takes over her eyes that does not make me feel warm and fuzzy, like everyone’s costumes.
This is the look she gets right before she’s about to make a man pay for something.
“I just want to let you know we take no pleasure in what we’re about to tell you and—”
“Ford’s family is in town!” Penny interrupts our mom, making my heart drop right down into my feet.
“I thought we agreed to do this gently?” Aunt Dawn complains. “That’s why we brought bacon, for Pete’s sake!”
“The whole town knows by now,” Penny continues, while anxious butterflies start flapping around in my stomach. “His mom, dad, and brother showed up, causing a ruckus at Boo Bites at the ass-crack of dawn this morning, looking for him. Abby sent them to the Gore House, since everyone found out that rat bastard tried to bribe you with a whole-ass house, and she assumed that’s where you two would be, and they made themselves right at home there.”
“Our sources who have been staking-out the place since he got there tell us he’s been with them all morning, and no one has emerged from the home yet.” Ginger throws her arms in the air with a flourish. “Surprise, honey! The in-laws are in town! While you’ve been nursing your horny hangover in bed, Ford has been hosting them inyour fucking housewithout telling you.”
All the Care Bears start calling Ford every insult they can think of, really not embodying the wholelove everyone unconditionallytheme of their costumes.
The whole town knows Ford’s family is here.
The whole town except for the woman who, just last night, vowed she belonged to him, while he was plowing her on a kitchen counter.
In the four hours since he’s known his family was in Harvest Grove, Ford hasn’t called to tell me. I don’t know if I want to curl up and cry or rip my table away from the Care Bears and flip it over.
His family being in town isn’t a little thing that just escaped his mind to let me know about. It’s a great-big,hugething. This is the family it physically pains Ford to talk about whenever I ask. The ones I know have caused him an endless amount of frustration and stress, going by the handful of times he’s mentioned them over the years. And his brother is here? The one he hasn’t spoken to in God even knows how many years, since all I ever get is a grunt and a“It hasn’t been long enough”out of him when I ask.
