It was complete conjecture on her part, Jake knew. And yet, with all the little pieces of Rye’s story his mind had already put together, he couldn’t say he disagreed.
He exhaled a short, harsh breath. “Fuck.”
“Right.”
“But he’s got his family, and...” Jake felt an unfamiliar tug in his stomach, and he let out another uneasy breath.
“And he’ll still need a friend. Can you imagine how hard it’s going to be for him if—god, never mind, I just said weshouldn’tbe imagining all the things.” Krista laughed, probably at herself, though like many of their “laughs” tonight, it seemed to hold no humor. Then she was quiet for another minute before she repeated, “He’llstillneed a friend. And, if you’ve got it in you to get out of your house every once in a while, you’re the type of person who would make a really good friend, I think.”
Jake rolled his eyes at his sister’s tease or whatever that had been, but then he sighed again and took a small step in the direction of the water.
“I do care about him,” he admitted. And because he didn’t want that to be taken the wrong way, he quickly added, “I mean, I think I could, you know, force myself to leave my house ‘every once in a while,’ for Rye. If he does... need a friend.”
“He will.”
And Jake knew she was right.
He’d seen how difficult everything had been for Rye, even after his mom had shown up. As heartwarming and heartbreaking as their reunion had been, it hadn’t been magically healing. Whatever Rye’s fears and anxieties were, they hadn’t just miraculously disappeared when his mom had hugged him.
And the next few days would probably be just as tough for Rye as the whole last week had been. Rye would no doubt be questioned by those out-of-town investigators Wayne had mentioned, the same ones who would probably need to talk to Jake too. Hell, Wayne had even said the FBI might show up, which made sense given the nature of Rye’s disappearance. And, fuck, the media too. Once word got out that Rye was home, their quiet little town would probably be swarmed.
The thought of the media hounding Rye, trying to get him to talk, made Jake physically ill.
Ryewouldneed a friend, especially over the next few days and especially after the dust settled. Regardless of whatever happened during the investigation—whether Rye found his voice and was able to tell the police where he’d been and what had happened, or whether some other new leads came up—it was going to be difficult. For all of them, yeah, butespeciallyfor Rye.
He slowly finished the walk across his patio and to the railing overlooking the water. Then he leaned against it, resting his weight on one hand, and he stared out at the ocean.
Krista had started talking, quietly having switched the subject to Phil’s upcoming gymnastics competition season, which apparently started next month, and Jake listened as she spoke, glad for the distraction. Yet he also couldn’t help as his mind wandered again, back to when he’d been recovering from his accident.
His family had been there; his sister had been at the hospital when he’d woken up and then every single day after, and his dad had been there much of the time as well. They’d been infinitely supportive of him, even when his stubborn ass had argued with the doctors about, well, nearly everything. But it had been hard on them—watching him nearly die and then having to stand by as he’d struggled with the reality of his injuries and the length of his recovery.
He’d been incredibly lucky to have his friend Steve to talk to when he’d needed someone but hadn’t wanted to, for lack of a better word, burden his family. Yeah, his sister was amazing, and she cared about him and loved him and supported him in every way, but he’d also just needed another friendly voice. And Steve had been there for him to listen to him and commiserate and joke with him in a way his family just couldn’t.
Rye’s situation was quite different, but Krista was right. Ryewasgoing to need someone, too, just as Jake had. And Jake found himself hoping he could be that person, that friend, when Rye needed it.
“So, as I’m sure you could guess, Phil’s a little nervous,” Krista said, her deep sigh cutting into Jake’s thoughts.
He grimaced as he realized how far from the conversation he’d drifted. “Sorry, I, uh—”
Krista interrupted him with a laugh. “You’re sorry that you totally missed what I was saying about Phil being selected to compete in the junior elite division this year because you were somewhere else, thinking about... someoneelse?”
Jake groaned. “I was not.”
“You’re the most terrible liar, Jake, you know that.”
“Yeah, I do, actually.” He laughed to himself and then straightened up, shivering as he noticed the chill for the first time in a while. He turned back to the house. “I’m sorry, though. That’s incredible. Junior elite, huh?”
“Yeah. It means longer practices, though. A couple extra hours on top of the twenty he’s already doing every week. And he has to learn extra routines and some hard new skills.”
“That’s perfect for him. He loves a challenge,” Jake said, slowing to grab his mostly empty mug as he passed the table.
“He does.”
“And it’ll give him a chance to go to some national championship?”
“Yeah, in—”
“—Reno. See, Kris, I was listening. Thinking about Ryeandlistening. I’m an excellent multitasker, really.”
