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“I think you should sit down,” Linley grabbed my arm, backing me into the empty stool where Hannah had been sitting. “What’s wrong? You seriously look like you’re about to pass out.”
“Gunner,” Hannah said, her voice soft as she squeezed my forearm. “If it’s meant to be, it will be.”
I shook my head. “That’s not it.”
“Then what is it?” Hannah’s brow furrowed and she looked over to Linley, whose eyes had become saucers.
She knows. She treated Iris at the hospital.
Chapter 27
Hallie
The sound of someone knocking on the door woke me up from my late evening nap on the couch, but I didn’t budge to answer it.
“I’ll get it for you,” Mom called from the kitchen. “You need to rest. You and Iris both do.”
I mumbled some barely coherent thought, rolling onto my side. My face was halfway buried into the back of the couch, and as I breathed in, I swore I caught a whiff of Gunner’s cologne. Had he sat there when he’d come over? Or was it just in my head?
My mom’s voice flowed from the entryway. “Oh, that’s so sweet of you to drop by.”
I strained to hear, expecting to hear Taylor’s voice—but that’snotwho it was. I reached for the blanket covering me and pulled it over my head. I wasnotin the mood for visitors.
“Hallie,” Mom’s voice called. “Are you feeling well enough to let Robbie Johnston in?”
She would invite him in.
Clenching my jaw, I hesitated—was there even a way to say no without being incredibly rude? Probably not. “Yeah, just forewarn him that I look like I feel—like shit.”
“All good,” Robbie’s voice came out in a chuckle. “I brought you some chicken noodle soup. It’s my grandma’s recipe. She swore it could cure anything. I’m not going to say it’s that good, but you get the gist.”
I couldn’t help but laugh silently at the nerves in his voice. I kept the blanket up around my face, the fuzzy material tickling the bottom of my nose as my gaze focused on the doorway. After a few seconds, my mom appeared, followed by the tall police officer, though he wasn’t in his uniform.
“I haven’t heard anything on the loan,” I croaked, hoping that would be enough of an answer to send him on his way.
“Ah, that’s okay,” Robbie gave me a dismissal wave as he set the container of soup on the coffee table. “You definitely don’t need to be worrying about that right now.”
“Oh… Yeah,” I said, meeting his eyes as he straightened back up.
“I take it you must’ve caught the same bug that your daughter has?”
“Yeah, I think so.” I looked past him to my mom, who was leaning against the doorframe, a glean in her eye that made me feel the need to roll mine. “I should be good in a few days.”
“Like by Friday night, maybe?” A grin grew across Robbie’s face. “I’d love to take you out. I, uh, heard through the grapevine that you were single…”
I took a deep breath, instantly wanting to tell him no—and to leave. I wasn’t remotely over Gunner. But then again, would I ever be? The silence in the room must’ve gone on too long for my mom.
“I think you should go,” Mom chirped. “As long as you’re feeling well. It might be good for you to try something new.”
He’s hardly new.
But now she had put me in a corner. She hadn’t even given me the chance to come up with some fake plans so I could dodge him. I didn’t want to be a serial dater, anyway.
“Okay,” I said, instead of all the other shit that I was feeling. “Maybe just something simple though…”
“We can do simple, no pressure at all. Can even just be a couple of friends.” Robbie was trying too hard, but yeah, I had to commend the effort. He was trying to do whatever it took to get me to go out with him…
“That sounds nice,” I forced the words out, wishing that I felt something more than indifference.
