Chapter Thirteen
“For the last time,I’ll be fine. I meant it the last six times I’ve said it, and I mean it this time too.” Elio was obviously fed up with my questions, but I had to make sure.
Sliding my earbuds into my ears, I grabbed my keys and stopped just before the couch. “I know, I know. Just promise you’ll call or text if you need anything? And if you could, start setting up in my bedroom. I’ll help you finish when I get home.”
“I’m not stealing your bedroom from you, Cres.”
“I want you to. Don’t forget your meds—there’s some food in the fridge you can heat up. Make yourself at home, okay?”
Elio sighed, but nodded. “Okay. I’ll see you later. Go have fun at work. I’m going to go back to sleep, probably.”
Ididn’t want to leave. Honestly, I was terrified to. A hundred thousand scenarios crossed my mind, not a single one ending well.
What if Jude somehow found my address and showed up there? What if he tried to contact Elio, and Elio caved? What if something happened to Elio while I was gone, like one of his wounds was actually infected, and I just hadn’t noticed?
I’d used one of my old phones I had lying around in my junk drawer to get him a new number. The only two contacts he had were Sarah and me, and I’d made sure he had TikTok downloaded to entertain himself. He still had his phone, though I’d made sure it was turned off and put away in case Judedidtry to message him. Per Elio’s request, of course.
The drive to Love ’n Sugar was short, yet torturous. My earbuds were firmly in my ears, connected and ready to drown out any unwanted noises or whispers. They’d been coming more frequently now. I hadn’t slept much the last few days since I brought Elio home, but they were making it even harder. I wanted to be able to hear him if he needed something, yet if I did, I’d be able to hear them too.
Shaking my head, I blew out a long breath, steeling myself. I hadn’t even stepped foot out of my car, and I was already wanting to go home.
It looked like James was already here, probably having opened the store for us. After another minute or so, I grabbed my bag, my lunch, and my resolve.
As the front door swung open, I was hit with the scent of freshly baked bread. We didn’t open for a while yet, so we had time to prepare everything we sold.
The bakery felt like a home away from home, every inch of it coating my flesh with something undeniablygood.Iloved how it looked, how it smelled, how it sounded when all of us were hard at work whisking and cutting and fumbling with bags of icing. The sound of oven timers blaring their alerts often followed me into my sleep, wrapping themselves around my body like a comforting hug.
Apron firmly tied around my waist, I pushed the kitchen doors open, letting them swing to a stop behind me. It was hot back here—hot enough for sweat to immediately start to build at my brow line. Little prickles began sweltering underneath my skin, bubbling up to the surface.
Once my lunch was put away in the employee fridge and my hair was neatly tucked into a hairnet, I pressed play on my phone, washed my hands, and pulled on a pair of gloves. The low music playing in my ears wasn’t loud enough to cover up the sound of the sheet pan banging against the counter top. I loved it, though. It meant I was home—at least as close to it as possible.
Soon, I was lost in the motions, pulling dough, making batter, and grabbing a multitude of cupcakes and cookies from the cooling rack for icing. It was easy enough, and it kept my mind off Elio at home, who was hopefully in my bed resting.
A loud gasp from the corner caught my attention, forcing my head up. “Jesus Christ! When the fuck did you get here?” James stood in front of me, a hand over his heart.
He’d always been so chill that I wondered if I’d ever seen him scared. “Uh, sorry, bro. Maybe twenty minutes?”
“You scared the shit out of me.” He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a second to steady himself. “I forgot you were coming in this morning. I was just unloading some stuff. What’ve you done so far?”
I set the icing bag down, taking a moment to stretch my fingers. “Not a lot. I’m just working on these if you want to focus on any of the dough. Or we can switch.”
All I got was a nod and a shrug. Back to a man of few words, I guessed.
By the time my lunch came around, James and I were elbows deep in a hundred pounds of flour. We were always absolutely covered in various baking ingredients. Probably enough to make a whole batch of variety bread, honestly.
My ears were starting to hurt from the earbuds pushed into them, but I refused to take them out. I’d get used to them eventually, just like I always did. Lunch today consisted of another sandwich—shocker. My brain was too full and messy to think of anything else or to worry about adequate grocery shopping, aside from the essentials and shit to feed Elio and me.
There were a lot more people at the park than usual, going on about their lives as if nothing was wrong. And maybe there wasn’t. Maybe I was projecting.
I pulled out my phone, ignoring the multitude of text messages from Moon and Star. I’d respond to them eventually—just not today. Elio hadn’t texted me yet, and I was getting antsy, so I sent my own.
Me
Hey, how’s everything going? Got the room all set up yet?
I waited for a minute, just staring at the screen in hopes he’d reply. When three passed in silence, I sighed and forced myself to open my lunchbox.
When five passed, I slowly nibbled on the bread in anticipation.
