“Your car is not worth salvaging. Both the engine and the transmission are on their last legs. It’s not safe for you to drive, Sassy.”
She puts her hand on the table to help her stand up, but I stay seated. She starts to pace the room. “But it’s my car. I own it. That’s all I have and?—”
“And?” I ask her.
She finally turns to look at me. “And well, the baby will be here in three months. I’m going to need a car and?—”
I do stand up now. “And you think I’ll take your car away while you’re on maternity leave.”
“Maternity leave? Are you crazy? Today is my first day. I’ll have this baby in three months, and you’re telling me I have maternity leave?” She huffs out a breath. “Look, Elijah, I appreciate what you’re trying to do and all, but this is crazy talk. I’m not accepting your car, and I’m not accepting maternity leave.”
I chuckle. “Still stubborn, I see.”
She doesn’t laugh with me. If anything, her glare gets even harder.
I hold my hands up and walk around the table to her. I put my hands on her shoulders, and as soon as I do, I know it’s the wrong thing.
Being this close to her wreaks havoc with my nervous system, but touching her makes me feel feral in a way that I haven’t felt before.
“Why not? Give me one good reason why you can’t accept maternity leave or a company car.”
She stutters. “Well, because I don’t want any special treatment. I know you’re doing this because I’m Kane’s sister and?—”
“No, I’m not.”
I shake my head and step toward her. “I love your brother, but I’m not doing this because of him. We’re friends, Sass. We may not have been around each other much over the past five years,but that doesn’t mean we’re not friends, and as your friend, I want to help you. Let me do this for you.”
She’s wavering. She’s staring at me, overwhelmed. “But…”
“You were worriedabout having a car. Done. You have one. I know you were worried about doctor bills. Done. You don’t have to worry about it now.”
I’m ready to continue to convince her when she starts crying. Big fat tears start to roll down her cheek. “Fuck, I’m sorry. Please don’t cry. I can’t… I don’t…”
I wrap my arms around her and hold her to me. “Fuck, baby, I’ll do whatever you tell me to do if it means you’ll stop crying.”
“Why are you being so nice to me?”
I kiss the top of her head. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I need to comfort her. “Because you’re my friend, and I want to be nice to you. You deserve to have nice things. You deserve to be given things that make your life easier. You deserve to be treated right.”
I lean back and wrap my hands around her upper arms. “Honey, if there’s one thing I want you to know, it’s that. You deserve so much more than just a car and paid time off. You deserve more.”
She lifts her hand and wipes her eyes. “Gah, I promised myself last night that I wouldn’t cry around you anymore, and look at me now.”
I reach for the center of the table and pull a tissue from the box, and instead of handing it to her, I wipe under her eyes. “You know, you can cry with me any time you need to. I’ll listen, but I have to tell you, Sassy, I’m going to do everything I can so youdon’t want to cry. That’s going to be my mission over the next few months. If I can make your life easier… let me.”
She eyes me curiously. I can see the questions, the doubt, everything in her eyes, but finally she nods. “Okay. Thank you. I feel like I’ve thanked you a hundred times since yesterday and it’s not enough. I can’t thank you enough.”
I run my thumb across her soft cheek. “You don’t have to thank me.”
The sound of the front door opening has me reluctantly taking a step back.
“Sis… you still here?”
I call out to Kane, “We’re in here.”
Kane walks in and looks between me and his sister. “Shit, you’re crying again?”
Sassy bursts out laughing, and I can’t help but join her. She walks over to where she was sitting and starts packing up her stuff.
