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I had just assumed she was home, and when she didn’t answer, I dialed her number.
She picked up on the first ring, and I heard laughter through the receiver.
“Where are you, honey?”
“With Sarah.” More giggles erupted.
Sarah was the new accountant we’d hired. She worked closely with Addison, who had been her roommate in college. Sarah came from a wealthy family that owned a national printing corporation, and as we’d grown to know Sarah and her uncles, we’d become business partners of sorts.
“Sorry, Sydney, did you want me home?” The slight worry in her voice told me she’d come right home even though it sounded like she was out and finally letting loose a little bit since all this drama had started.
“Of course not. I just thought …” It was a weekday, and Addy was always home. The first thought that crossed my mind was wondering whether she had dinner. “Did you eat already?”
“Yeah. I’m over at Sarah’s place. Her whole family, sister and cousins are over here, and her mom cooked a feast for dinner.”
Sarah lived downtown in a high-rise. She could have worked for her family as they owned the biggest printing company in the nation—Brisken Printing Corporation, but she wanted to work for a smaller boutique firm first, trying to figure out which she preferred since she’d interned at her parents’ firm throughout college. She was a hard worker, just like Addison, and a great addition to the Loverly Ad Agency clan.
“Don’t stay out too late, okay?” I told her, trying to come to grips with my disappointment that she wasn’t here. It was silly. She was an adult. She had a life. It was great.
“Okay.”
“Hey …” I said, stopping her before she hung up with me. “Have you seen Alec?”
“I did, this morning. I called him earlier, and he’s hanging out with Kevin.”
I released a silent sigh. Kevin was a good kid, a responsible kid. Out of all of Alec’s friends, I liked Kevin the best.
“Okay, have fun.”
After I hung up the phone, I stood at the bottom of the stairs, staring at my phone and trying to figure out what to do next. The quiet in the house was deafening. Maybe because it was never silent. Maybe because someone was always home. It was only then I realized that maybe … just maybe Austin was onto something. Maybe all I knew was how to take care of my family.
I sat there for a few more minutes, trying to imagine them all gone. Alec, Addison, off living their lives and settled somewhere, excelling at their careers and relationships and anything else they put their smart minds to. I’d placed myself in the motherly role for so long, and I was so used to having them around that, now, I didn’t know what to do with myself sometimes.
And then I imagined myself. Here. Alone. And for the life of me, I couldn’t think of what would come next for me.
CHAPTER23
AUSTIN
Congrats,me. I could now piss and get a glass of water, yet being hurt, it still sucked to do it. I’d never take my body for granted ever again. But it wasn’t like I had before, given I fueled my body with a strict diet of power greens and protein shakes during the season and even off-season.
When the doorbell rang, I rushed to let Sydney in.
I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t anxious to see her. I hated how we’d left things last night.
Also, in the process of getting a glass of water, I’d knocked down all the glasses, and I was now drinking from a mug because I had been able to grab it by the handle with my pinkie. Lame.
“Hey.” She came through the door with her hair in a flop of a mess on top of her head, but she sported a smile, like everything was all right in the world, hopefully forgetting all that had happened yesterday.
Maybe I’d pressed her too hard, but a big part of me had wanted her to realize I was right.
“Hey,” I said, stepping to the side to let her in.
“I brought breakfast. Sorry I’m late. I had to drop off some bagels and coffee at the agency, so I got some for us too.”
Us. Shit. I hated how much I fucking loved the sound of that.
With all the time she’d been spending here though, I wondered what exactly she did for the agency. I was sure she did more than just get everyone breakfast.
