“He could’ve joined us, you know.” I can see Sin’s eye roll from out of the corner of mine.
“Yeah, well, he isn't here, is he? He had plans, but still wanted to see me at some point.” Harley snaps. Down wind of Harley’s slightly raised tone, Collins' head whips around from where he floats on the other end of the pool. Why would she waste time with butthead Benji, when Collins is so very clearly ready to give her his full attention? I will never understand.
“Jesus, Harls, sorry.” Sin sounds defeated, making me question how many times she’s had to deal with this temper.
“You know what? I think I’m going to head out now.” Harley stands abruptly and—just as fast—Collins is out of the pool telling Dom to watch Bella and following her out of the yard just as fast. Their muffled shouts can be heard, not enough to make out any words, but their tone couldn’t be more clear.
“Well, that sucked.” Kodi rubs her temples, “I hope Harls is okay.”
“Yeah, same here,” I sigh, truly worried about a member of my tight knit inner-circle. Collins returns ten minutes later but joins the guys at the grill.
“Want to hear some hot team gossip?” Kodi almost-whispers, as if she is afraid someone will hear her telling us news we aren’t supposed to know yet.
“Yes!” We all squeal in her direction.
“Conrad Hoyer got traded to the Manta Rays,” she discloses, seemingly unphased by the news.
“No way! How is Maverick feeling about that?” I gasp. Why is she so cool with it?
“How areyoufeeling about it?” Sin chimes in.
“I mean, Mav doesn’t care. I’m his wife, after all. He’s a team player, so he’s not going to do anything less than try to make him feel welcome. I guess Conrad’s attitude is making it all a little difficult, though. And, I don’t care, as long as he doesn’t act like a douchecanoe again, I’ll play nice.” She smiles sweetly but I know beneath that smile she’s not joking—she will play nice until she’s given a reason not to.
I hum in response, thinking about what our little group would look like if Conrad became part of it and then shaking it off because that doesn’t sound ideal.
“Food’s ready!” Nik hollers. Sinclair helps me stand, worried that I can’t lift myself off the ground and presuming it’s better I have her assistance—much to my ire.
Chatter, water splashing, and singing Happy Birthday are the soundtrack of the rest of the afternoon. By the time Tatum and I return to the condo, my body feels heavy, my head hurts, and I know that I need to rest. Tatum can tell, too, asking if he can get me anything. I turn him down, taking my giant water jug to my bed with me.
* * *
I thoughtI had finally seen the other side of my pregnancy nausea era, but I was wrong. This past week has been miserable, I’m peeling myself out of bed just to sit at my desk and toil away in a monotonous job. I run to the bathroom almost every time I eat and find small tasks like doing my dishes or laundry to be over-exhausting. If I’m not working, I’m laying in my bed or on the couch doing nothing. I find myself thinking back to Tatum’s offer to pay my bills while I focus on nurturing the blob and writing my debut novel. Something is holding me back, my fear of relying on someone else and losing my independence again just like with my parents, maybe?
Deciding that asking for Harley’s opinion could be good practice forher, I call my friend.
“Hey, D, what’s up?” A door slams in the background causing me to flinch.
“What was that, Harls?” Concern is at the forefront of my mind because I know Sin wouldn’t be slamming doors in the apartment they share. Between her weird behavior at Stu’s birthday, and now this, I’m growing more concerned.
“Oh nothing, just Benji leaving for work.” Harley is always quiet but usually when she speaks, there’s some inflection in her voice. Right now, there is none.
She’s lying.
“You know you can talk to me, right?” I pry, aware that I can’t push too hard or she’ll shut me out.
“Yeah Darcy, everything is fine. We are fine. Leave it alone. Did you need something?” She is rarely this short with anyone.
“I need you to therapize me.” Reading her hostility, loud and clear, I change topics to keep her talking to me. If I had the energy, I would be pacing back and forth in my room right now.
“Okay, well, tell me what’s going on.” She laughs, but it’s strained.
“Hey, you aren’t supposed to laugh at your clients.”
“You aren’t my client, you are my friend taking advantage of my education in this field.”
“Fine. You can’t see me but I just rolled my eyes at you. A few weeks back, Tatum was about to offer me money for my bills so that I could focus on writing and resting. Well, I cut him off. I willnotrely on him for that. It feels too much like I’m back in my parents' grasp, someone else having control over my money and my life.”
“But you said he was going to give you the money, right, not pay the bills directly?”
