I still needed to sign up for new accounts with the streaming services. It was one of the few things Neil had put in his own name. My eyes drifted to the record player, displayed near the couch in a way that reminded me of the Millers’ house. “Some music?” I suggested.
Jack motioned for me to stay seated as he pushed up to cross to the record player himself. “I’ve been wanting to sort through your vinyl.”
I laughed. “I take no credit for the taste.”
“He’s such a music nerd,” Sean said, but there was a smile in his voice.
“There’s nothing nerdy about music,” Jack argued, already crouching in front of the first case.
My eyes slid shut as I enjoyed the moment. Christening my new place with the Millers’ albums seemed just right. They would have liked my new friends; I was certain of it.
Jack had gone quiet. I opened my eyes, curious what he thought of the collection. His body blocked the record in his hand, but he had stiffened, as if frozen.
“What’s wrong?” Sean asked.
Jack pushed the sleeve in his hand back down into the box, pulling out another one, making a sound in his throat I didn’t understand.
“Not finding any you want to listen to?” I asked, sitting up straighter, which pulled me away from Sean’s arm. “Most of them were Mrs. Miller’s, and she had a thing for seventies and eighties heartthrobs.”
“It’s not that.” Jack’s voice was thick as he switched to another sleeve.
“Is something wrong with them?” I pushed off the couch with my good hand, moving closer to Jack. The record he had pulled free was only half of one, with jagged edges where the other half should be. “Oh, no,” I whispered, my throat tightening. I reached for the broken piece, and Jack released it to me.
“Did some break during themove?” I asked.
“That’s not possible. I was very careful with them.” Jack shifted the first case to the side, pulling free the second one and opening the lid. When he pulled the record from the first sleeve, I couldn’t breathe. It was as broken as the one in my hand.
“How many is it?” Sean asked, his hand finding my shoulder.
By the time the pizza arrived, we’d gone through more than half. All broken with jagged edges. The way they sat in the sleeves was misleading. None of the cracks were visible until they were pulled free.
Sean answered the door for me as I sat with some of the record pieces in my lap. My eyes burned, but I kept blinking, not wanting to cry. The records were just things. Really important things, but I remembered the times when I had nothing.
“It’s all of them, isn’t it?” I asked. I could replace them, in time. It’s just… they would no longer be the ones that had belonged to the Millers.
Jack sat back, his hands shaking. “I think so. I’m so sorry, Hailey.”
“It’s not your fault. I watched you put them in your truck. You were very careful, Jack.” I started putting away the pieces of the one I still had out, my eyes blurring as I found the correct sleeve. “I know you didn’t do this.”
He looked at me, but I didn’t want to meet his eyes.
“I hadn’t pulled any of these out for a while. This could have happened a long time ago. I should have checked them before now.” I’d missed so many opportunities to enjoy them over the years. Now they were gone.
“You don’t believe that,” Jack said, his voice thick.
I put the last sleeve away, staring down at the case that had held so many memories. “He did this. He broke them all on purpose.” There were a lot of records in the collection. It had to have taken him a while to snap every single one of them.
“Can they be fixed?” Sean asked. “Maybe a specialist…”
“They’re unplayable,” Jack said, his voice rough. He pushed up to his feet, striding toward the door.
Sean stepped in front of him, pressing a hand to his chest. “Where are you going?”
“To have a chat with him,” Jack snapped.
“If that chat is with your fists, Hailey doesn’t want that. Took everything in me not to pummel him last week after what he did, so I understand the urge. I do. But that would be for you, not for her.” He nodded toward me.
“What he did?” Jack stepped back, looking toward me. “What did he do?”
