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“Well, all right. Bring Kody over to play with Oreo soon.” She waved over her shoulder as she headed down the steps of the porch.
“Goodbye. And thanks for the brownies.” I shut the door and leaned back against it.
My thoughts were turning darker by the second. Did someone come to visit Lacey after I left that night? Why didn’t she mention it? Maybe it was because it was that guy, Liam. Maybe she was sneaking around with him. It seemed preposterous. He’d shown up at the pier while we were out together, but why would he come to my house? I thought about how Mrs. Travis said he’d parked down the road and not in front of the house. Just like she’d said, it was suspicious behavior.
Chapter 32
Lacey
Running a hand down my black silk blouse, I fought the urge to run back into my bedroom and change. I’d already changed outfits a million times and messed with my hair and makeup until I thought I’d scream. I checked my appearance one last time in the mirror. Everything looked fine. The blouse was gorgeous, and I’d paired it with jeans to keep the entire outfit looking casual.
Bash was coming to my apartment and instead of that filling me with excitement and anticipation, I was filled with anxiety and dread. I hadn’t seen him and had barely spoken to him since Kody’s accident. He was shutting me out.
I knew he was dealing with a lot. Between Kody’s surgery and then taking care of him, he had a lot on his plate. When I’d dumped all my fears on Kaylie, she told me to give him some space.
Still, I was worried about us. Not just Bash and me, but Kody, too. I was worried that Kody was upset with me. I recalled in detail that dull vacant stare when he looked at me in the hospital. Intellectually, I knew he was scared and hurt and wanted his dad, but that look chilled me. What if he blamed me?
Kaylie told me that Kody was slowly getting back to his normal, cheerful self. I guess I just wanted to see him so I could reassure myself that he was okay and that we were still friends. Then, I felt guilty and selfish worrying about my own feelings when Kody was the one that went through everything.
This morning, I got the dreaded text from Bash. We need to talk. Those words seemed so ominous. I’d wanted to talk to him for days, so I should be ecstatic that he was ready, but I was getting bad vibes.
I knew I fucked up with Kody. My heart wrenched as I thought about how much I had hurt him. Somehow, I had to make things right again. I spent a lot of time scouring the internet for fun activities that the three of us could do together, even with Kody’s broken arm. I needed to be in their lives again and for everything to be normal.
Bash told me that his parents were watching Kody at his house. He was coming into the city to see me, but he didn’t want to leave Kody for too long, so he wasn’t staying over.
That text, after the ‘we need to talk’ text, had me even more anxious. Why didn’t he ask me to come over to his house? Was he trying to keep me away from Kody?
I wiped my sweaty palms on my jeans when I heard the elevator. I walked toward the foyer with trepidation.
The elevator door slid open, and he stepped out. My insides clenched with how handsome he looked. His hair was uncharacteristically long for him, curling up at the ends slightly and he had the perfect amount of 5 o’clock shadow. He was wearing a casual, plaid button-down shirt with the sleeves rolled up and a pair of perfectly broken-in jeans.
He looked so good, and I’d missed him so much that, before I could stop myself, I hugged him. He remained stiff in my arms. One arm hung limp at his side and the other awkwardly pressed against my back for a second. I held in a gasp of surprise and stepped back, laughing nervously.
I quickly turned so he wouldn’t see my eyes well up with tears. “Do you want a glass of wine?”
“No. A glass of water would be good.” He followed me into the kitchen.
I busied myself pouring a glass of water for him and a glass of wine for myself. I had a feeling I was going to need it. “How is Kody doing?”
“Fine.”
“Did he get my get-well presents?” I’d gotten him a teddy bear with a cast on his arm, some balloons, a bag of M&Ms, and a 5-pack of toy cars for his impressive collection.
“He did.”
I took a sip of my wine. I was so freaking nervous and Bash wasn’t helping with the curt answers. “Is he ... mad at me?”
“He hasn’t mentioned you.”
I flinched as if I’d just been slapped. Emotionally, it felt like I had been. Everything was all wrong. I had to fix this. “I was so scared that he’d been hurt really bad. Do you think I overreacted by calling 911? I’ll pay for the cost—“
“Shit, Lacey. This isn’t about the fucking cost.” Anger laced his words.
Five feet of marble on the kitchen island separated us, so I circled around to stand next to him. “I’m sorry. I panicked when I saw him lying on the ground in so much pain. I wasn’t sure what to do.” I pleaded with my eyes for him to understand. “But, I enrolled in some first aid courses. A basic first aid and CPR course and another one that’s tailored specifically to first aid for babies and children. I realize I should already know all this stuff, but I don’t.”
Bash looked at me calmly. “How did he get up on the table with you watching him?”
I unclenched my hands, which had balled into fists at my side. Thinking back to the moment of terror that had taken over me, I felt my heart rate accelerating. “I don’t know. We were playing hide and seek and he was hiding under the table. I knew he was there, but I pretended I couldn’t find him. The next thing I knew, he was screaming. It was awful. I could tell something was wrong.”
