I kiss Iris goodnight, wave goodbye to Eric, then head to my car, not feeling quite as at ease as I did a moment ago.
Because Eric’s right, isn’t he? I’m not only her boyfriend, I’m her boss, too.
And that makes this so much more complicated.
27
AIDAN
Jada answers the buzzer when I ring, smiling. She motions to the pizza boxes stacked in my arms. “You know we’ll still let you in if you show up without food, right?”
I chuckle, leaning in to brush a kiss to her cheek. “Noted. But you know I like to provide.”
“I do.” Her eyes sparkle as they move between mine. “Shame you don’t have a woman of your own to spoil.”
I lower my gaze, not wanting her to see my smile. “Soph home?”
“She’s at yoga class.”
“Shit, I should have called. Sorry.”
“Don’t be silly.” Jada waves a hand. “Come in. She’ll be home soon enough, and actually, this is good. I want to talk to you about her.”
I frown, concern tugging at me as I follow Jada inside. “Everything okay?”
She leads me into the kitchen, pulling a couple plates from the cupboard. I set the pizza boxes down, and she grabs a slice of vegetarian.
“Not exactly. Soph’s been a little off ever since that gallery turned her down.”
I reach for a slice of pepperoni. “Off, how?”
“You know how she gets. Spends all day on the sofa, unable to do anything other than binge Netflix.”
I nod. I do know how Soph gets. Occasionally, the world can be too much, and she feels the need to hide away, usually after a setback like this. My mind flashes briefly on Iris, the way she ran away from the office the day after John lashed out at her, like she too felt the need to hide from the world. I shake the thought away.
“But she’s at yoga,” I point out around a bite of pizza. “That’s a good sign, right?”
Jada shakes her head. “She only went because I begged her to go. It’s the first time she’s left the house in two weeks.”
Fuck. How did I not know this? I should have checked in sooner.
“I’ve encouraged her to see someone,” Jada says quietly. “I think it could help.”
I scrub a hand absently across my beard. “See someone?”
She nods. “A psychiatrist. See if there’s something they can do. Not only with this, but with other stuff, too. I love her dearly,” Jada says, “but sometimes she’s such a roller coaster. Excited and optimistic one minute, reeling and hurt the next. Other times she’s obsessively focused to the point she forgets to eat or sleep, and then, well…” Jada motions to the sofa, where Soph has camped out for two weeks. “It hurts to see her struggle so much.”
“Yeah,” I say in agreement. I know this about Soph, but I also think about Iris. Drawing similar parallels with what I’ve seen in her, too.
“Anyway.” Jada gives me a tired smile. “The appointment isn’t until the week after next, but I wanted you to know.”
“Thanks,” I murmur.
There’s a sound at the door, and my sister’s voice drifts around the corner. “Do I smell pizza?” A moment later, Soph appears in the kitchen, letting her yoga mat drop to the floor. “Hey, Aid.” She glances at Jada with a frown. “Did you call him?”
Jada’s hands fly up. “He just stopped by.”
I rise, pulling my sister into a hug. “I was in the neighborhood,” I say, squeezing her. She feels smaller than I remember. “Wanted to say hi.”
