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“I doubt it,” Kassandra said, scoffing.
***
Ryan raced home Friday to pack up his apartment and take everything to the room at Tiffany’s. While he was home, his phone beeped. It was Betsy.
“So, how’d it go?” she asked.
“It was great. I jumped right in. A coworker offered me a room to rent, so I’m packing up my stuff and going to head back tonight.”
“Oh, no. That doesn’t sound promising for us, Ryan. We had plans tonight.”
“Right. I’m sorry. It was too good of an opportunity to pass up until I get a place of my own.”
“What happened to your father’s apartment?”
“Pam rented it to someone else, so that’s out. You know, I’d think if you really cared about me, you’d be glad. You’re only worried about yourself right now.”
“I’m happy for you, Ryan, but we had a date tonight, and you never called me. It’s after seven. So if I didn’t call you, I’m sitting on my ass. I think you have it switched. If you really cared about me, you’d have called me the second the guy offered you the room and let me know.”
“It’s a girl.”
“Who’s a girl?” Betsy asked.
“The person who offered me the room.”
Betsy barked out a laugh. “Ryan, I hope you die today.”
The phone went dead. Ryan just laughed. One problem out of the way. But now he had to tell Lisa where he was going to be living. He just couldn’t ghost her, as much as his head said it was acceptable.
When he looked at his phone screen, his reflection stared back at him. He was a heel, and he knew it. He had effectivelydumped his entire family and run away. He’d left unfinished renovation projects at his house for Lisa to deal with on her own. And the group of men he had loved like brothers—how was he going to circumvent the details of his new living situation without outright lying?
Calling Dan first seemed like the best thing to do. He was truly family. The guy must have been staring at his phone because he answered before the first ring had completed.
“What the fuck, bro?”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“Sorry, but fuck that. You left a shitload for everyone else to clean up. You realize that, right?”
“Yeah, I know. I’m calling to find out how I can make it right without moving back into that madhouse.”
“Pal, show an interest in your kids.”
“No offense,pal,but you have a lot of room to talk. Maybe me leaving will force you to step up to the plate.”
“I know. I thought you were smarter than me. You loved Lisa, Ryan.”
“I still do. But I can’t stand it over there anymore. I’m calling to tell someone where I’ll be in case of an emergency. I’ll get in touch with Lisa and ask her when it would be convenient for me to come around and work on the attic.”
“It’s all taken care of. But you should still visit her just for the kids’ sake.”
“Who’s doing the attic?”
“Max and Andy are probably there right now.”
“Oh. I just moved out. They could have given me some time to work on it.”
“Take it up with Lisa.”
