“What’s your plan for the day?” she asks, browsing through Netflix with one hand, and propping up her head with the other.
I stretch, the book on my lap forgotten.
“Actually, I need to go pick up the keys to the new building I bought this afternoon. That’s pretty much all I have planned.”
Missy perks up instantly. She sets the remote aside and turns toward me, legs tucked under herself.
“Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to ask, why’d you move here? I heard you telling Jensen last night about the bookstore, but why not set up in England? Why come all the way out here?”
I hesitate, trying to keep my face neutral. How do you explain something like that to someone you just met? How do I tell her I’m running from alife that broke me, from a past I want no part of? From a relationship that physically and emotionally damaged me ... That the people who mattered most, my mum, my sister, are gone. That the only family I have left, my father, is someone I refuse to let be part of my life.
Missy notices the shift, the pause, the way I falter just slightly. She moves closer, knees brushing mine, placing a hand gently on my knee.
“You don’t have to tell me if you’re not comfortable,” she says softly.
I force a small smile and decide to keep it simple.
“I just needed a fresh start. I got out of a bad relationship not too long ago, and … I don’t have any family.” I shrug like it’s nothing, trying to play it off.
She squeezes my knee lightly, holding my gaze before giving me a warm smile.
“Well,” she says, “you can count me as your family now.” Then she nudges my shoulder playfully, grinning. “And that ex of yours?” She scoffs. “Hope his dick falls off.”
I let out a startled laugh. “That’s one way to put it,” I reply, voice laced with amusement, grateful for the light-hearted turn.
“You can come with me if you want?” I offer. “If you’re not busy today, that is.”
Missy brightens instantly, bouncing lightly on the sofa.
“I’m not busy! I don’t work weekends,” she says, practically buzzing. “Well … I do have to check in on my mom before she calls a search party, but other than that, I’d love to come. Wait … I have an idea! It’s almost lunchtime anyway. Why don’t you come with me to my moms for lunch, and then we can head out from there? She makes some great hangover food,” she grins.
I laugh, shaking my head at her teasing.
“I would love that. Sounds perfect.”
I push myself up, stretching a little before turning to get ready. Then I pause.
“Only if your mum would be okay with that, though?”
Missy waves a hand, dismissing my concern without hesitation. “Of course she would! Now go get dressed!”
I nod, heading toward the stairs, but I pause at the bottom step.
The painkillers are still sitting on the side, a small, crumpled reminder.
I pick them up, turn them over in my hand.
Just painkillers. Such a simple gesture.
But he thought about me.
And no matter how much I try to brush it off, I can’t ignore that.
Ford comes across as grumpy and closed off, but that gesture of kindness, of thoughtfulness, was enough to show me something else.
Something quieter. Truer.
I close my fingers around them, exhale slowly.
