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I opened one eye to look at Gabe. “Yeah, fuck that.”
“Jake…”
My brother had clearly put up with more than enough of my shit. “Fine. I’ll follow doctor’s orders.” No matter how much it annoyed me.
“Okay. Tomorrow I’ll come by in the morning and pick you up.” He got up and headed towards the door.
“Gabe—”
He stopped with his hand on the door handle, looking back at me, one eyebrow raised.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t mention it.”
* * *
“Turn that frown upside down, sunshine. You’re home.” Ally held my front door wide.
I tried my best to smooth the frown from my brow, but I had no more patience for being sick today than I’d had yesterday. The drive home from the hospital had worn me out enough to let me know exactly how long the road to recovery was going to be. On top of that, I felt like my body was on fire. Literally, every part of me hurt.
When I stepped inside, the frown came back with a vengeance. I wasn’t a messy guy, but it was clear someone, or maybe an army of someones, had given my place an incredibly thorough going over. “Who cleaned up in here?”
“Everyone,” Gabe answered, coming in behind me and dropping my bag next to the door.
“That really wasn’t necessary.”
“Probably not,” Ally agreed, “but it gave us something to do. Honestly? You scared us, Jake.” She said the last part gently, which totally took the wind out of my angry sails.
“Okay. Who specifically do I have to thank for what?”
“Let’s see. Your freezer is fully stocked with meals. They’re small, because Em—we were told you might not feel like eating much. That was me and Zara, duhh. Ellen and Bruce cleaned out your kitchen cupboards. Lucy washed every single item of linen you own, then sorted, folded and put it all away. Dante and Tom cleaned out the gutters on the roof. Elissa brought the girls over and they did a chalk painting on the back wall, so if you’re sitting outside feeling sorry for yourself, you’ll have something to look at. That was Mila’s idea, no surprise.”
“Cute.” Elissa’s twin daughters were the best.
“Yeah. Oh, and Claire and Jen scrubbed out your bathroom and did all the floors.”
“Wow.” I really wanted to say,And Emma? But that would be stupid. Of course Emma wouldn’t have helped. “We’ll have to have a big barbecue when I’m up to it, so I can thank everyone properly.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Ally flicked a look at Gabe. “But that’s enough for today. You need to rest.”
I wanted to argue, but I really did feel like shit and much as I hated to admit it, my couch was looking very fucking inviting. “Okay.”
“I can stay, if you need—”
“Thanks, but I don’t.” I cut Gabe off, shuffling towards the living room, wincing as I slowly lowered myself to the sofa.Pathetic.
“Suit yourself. I’ll be back later to get your dinner ready.” He retrieved my phone and charger from my overnight bag and brought them to me, plugging the charger into the nearest wall so the phone was within easy reach. “Call me if you need anything. I mean it.”
“I will,” I lied. Gabe was busy enough, with his new wife and his boy. The last thing he needed was me dragging on his time.
After they left, I stretched out on the couch, trying not to think about Emma. And failing spectacularly, of course. As if she would be at my house when I was in hospital, cleaning it.I’m here.So sweet and gentle. Typical Emma. I grabbed my phone and unlocked it, staring at the screen, desperately wanting to reach out to her. “Stop it, dumbass. You’re just torturing yourself.” Besides, I didn’t even have her number anymore. I’d cut those ties so completely there was no reattaching them.
CHAPTER3
Emma
This was dumb. Monumentally stupid. A great big honking fat mistake. And I was doing it anyway.
