My phone buzzed in my pocket just as I was getting on the elevator. Seeing Cheyenne’s name on the screen nearly broke me.
“Hello?” My voice wobbled, even though I tried to keep it even, and she knew it instantly.
“What’s wrong? Is he dead? Did someone else stab him? Oh God, I knew we shouldn’t have slept in the apartment last night!”
“No, it’s fine,” I sniffled as the tears started to flow.
“If it’s fine, then why the hell are you crying? Whose ass do I need to kick?”
The doors opened and I ducked my head, running out to the parking lot, hoping to escape anyone who might know me and ask what was wrong.
“I just saw Liam and…I don’t know. I think he’s mad at me. He barely spoke two words to me.”
“Is that all? Christ, I thought we were all about to die! I was ready to run over there in my red boots, and you know how much I love these boots!”
“It’s not like that. I mean, sure, he could be tired, but there was something else. When he looked at me…I don’t know how to describe it. It was like he was looking at a stranger. Like I was dead to him.”
“Huh. Well, that could mean anything.” The cheery tone in her voice didn’t really help the panic growing in the pit of my stomach.
“Yeah?” I sniffled, hoping she had an excellent answer.
“Of course. Like…he could have hit his head sometime during the night and he can’t remember who you are.”
“And that’s better?” I gasped, sucking in a ragged breath.
“Well…better than him wishing you were dead.”
“Any better ideas?”
As she hemmed and hawed, I got in my car and glanced in the mirror. God, I looked awful, and he was going to know it. I quicklygrabbed a wet wipe from my glovebox and cleaned the mascara from under my eyes.
“—or maybe he had this crazy dream that you did something to him, and when he woke up, he was really pissed at you. That happens! There are days I totally want to kill you because of things you’ve done to me in my dreams!”
That was the most comical of all her excuses, and it did make me feel better. “Well, thanks for trying.”
“Hey, you know me. I’m always up for crazy answers to the unknown.”
“It doesn’t really help, but I’ll take it.”
“Just relax. The man has been through a lot the past few days. He’s bound to be a little grouchy.”
“You’re right.”
If only the deep breath I took would actually center me, but it didn’t. And as I glanced toward the hospital entrance and saw Liam being wheeled out, I knew my time for freaking out was up.
“Alright. It’s time to pull up my big girl panties. I have to get him.”
“Man up,” she said excitedly. “You’ve got this. Keep your eye on the ball. Score the goal. Catch the fly ball. Be the ball?—”
“I’m hanging up now.”
I shifted into reverse and tossed my phone on the console. As I crept toward the entrance, I found myself wanting to run away, just in case he had something horrible to say to me. But I couldn’t do that. I’d already committed and there was no turning back now.
Caroline opened the passenger door and shot me a wary look. “Here we are.”
Yikes, she mouthed.
Great. It was even worse than I thought.
