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“Okay.” She paused, let out another breath into the receiver, and then spoke again. “Okay. I trust your judgment.”
“Okay, good.”
There was another silence, but just when I opened my mouth to fill it, she got there first.
“Shit, girl, telling you all about my wonderful new job now seems boring as fuck in comparison to your life.”
I quirked a smile at her attempt to lighten the mood. “I’m totally jealous, because I haven’t been to work since this happened. I can’t put the kids and other employees at the speech therapy center at risk, which means in another week or so my job will be at risk too.” It pissed me off that I was going to lose everything, and I didn’t even know why. “Who would want me dead?”
“Nobody I can think of. I mean, sure, you’ve bruised a few egos by rejecting guys, but you’re annoyingly nice when you let them down.”
“Thanks,” I laughed. “That’s what I said to the detectives.”
“I expect you to call me at least once every damn day, Peyton. Got it?”
I nodded, because that was fair enough, then realized she couldn’t see me. “I promise. I just needed to, I don’t know, process it all before I reached out. And, stupidly, I thought it would all be over in a few days. Now it looks like it might end up being one of those cases that never ends.”
“We can meet up somewhere, can’t we?”
“I hope so, because I miss my bestie. But I’m not sure.” I didn’t tell her about Rocky because I didn’t know how to explain it, but I would ask him about seeing my best friend. “I’ll let you know. Soon,” I promised.
“Okay. Well, I’m headed out for drinks with a coworker, and now that I know you’re alive and safe, I plan to go a little overboard.”
“Now that I’ve heard your voice, maybe I’ll get a little tipsy too. Be safe,” I added with more force than I meant to.
“Always am. But I’ll be extra careful just for you. Love you.”
“Love you too.” The call ended and my heart instantly felt heavier. All of this would be easier to deal with if I had my bestie at my side. But since I couldn’t have her, maybe I could have Jose or Tito, or maybe even Jameson. I jumped off the bed and left my room to go in search of booze.
In the kitchen, I grabbed the Maker’s Mark and a glass and settled on the sofa in front of the TV. Reality TV was trash, but it was the perfect background noise, so I didn’t feel so alone while I drowned my sorrows.
I drank one shot and cursed my bad luck for finding my roommate murdered, for coming home late enough that it wasn’t me. For jumping in bed with a man who didn’t want me. I took another and another until the sting in my chest dissipated and was replaced by a dull ache that was almost manageable.
I didn’t care—much—that Rocky didn’t want me. Sure, it hurt like hell after everything else, but I wasn’t surprised. He was just like pretty much every other man around, got his fill and moved on. It hurt like hell, but I was strong and I would get past it. Eventually.
It wasn’t personal.
So why was I reacting like this? Like something much bigger had been taken away from me?
It was stupid. I was being stupid, and emotional, and I needed to get over myself. That was all.
The front door opened and my heart stopped, but I pretended to be immune, pretended that I hadn’t heard it by the time Rocky appeared in the living room looking good enough to eat. He took in the scene, the bottle on the table, the amber liquid in my glass, and reality TV blaring from the speakers, with a frown that marred his ruggedly handsome face.
“Is everything all right?”
“Fine.”
His scowl deepened and he folded his arms as if that would intimidate me. “Are you okay, Peyton?”
I snorted a laugh and shook my head. “Don’t act like you care, Rocky. I’m fine.”
He clenched his jaw. “Of course I care.”
“Well, don’t, because I’m fine.” I stood up and wobbled a little before I got my bearings and snatched the bottle off the coffee table, stumbling towards the staircase that would take me up to my room.
“I do care,” he called out from behind me, stopping me in my tracks. “Tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing,” I sighed. “Nothing at all, Rocky. I’m just fucking peachy.” I turned because I didn’t want to look into those eyes, but his hand shot out and grabbed my arm.
