Kyle exhaled noisily and dropped his head. “Last week they started putting all kinds of pressure on me, so I blocked their calls. I’m just not going to show up.”
“Don’t you have to be there? It’s in the contract.”
“Yeah, well, fuck the contract. They can sue me. I’m not going to go in there so they can exploit what happened to Jake and parade me around for the cameras.”
Kyle’s words dripped resentment. I sympathized with his plight, but the legal ramifications if he bailed would be a nightmare. The look on his face kept me from commenting further. He didn’t ask for or want my opinion, so I kept it to myself.
We sat there awkwardly for a moment until he pushed back his chair once more and stood up. The food had done him some good. He looked stronger now. “Let’s go. I really need a shower.”
“You do.” I fanned my hand over my nose. “But lucky for you, I’m used to stinky Kyle.”
“You like me au natural.”
“I never said Ilikedit,” I balked. “Being used to something and liking it are two wildly separate things.”
“Well, I’m not showering for you anyway. I’m doing it for my poor mother. She’s been begging me for days and has resorted to wearing a surgical mask around her nose and mouth when I’m around.”
“You’re not that bad.”
“You don’t know my mom. She has the nose of a bloodhound.”
Kyle grabbed his tray, and we walked over to the moving dish receptacle system that sent the dishes back into the kitchen. He stared in fascination as his tray was robotically whisked away. I had to smile. That was the Kyle I knew and loved.
I touched his back. “You ready?”
Kyle nodded and led me out of the cafeteria, taking one last look over his shoulder as his tray disappeared into the kitchen. He strode through the hospital like a man who knew exactly where he was going, and I struggled to keep up with his long legs. We rode elevators and crossed internal bridges between buildings until we came to a door. Kyle opened it with a key card.
“What is this?”
“An apartment. It’s like for hospice families. We use it so we can be close to him, just in case…” His voice trailed off.
Just in case.My heart sank. I wanted to ask him what was happening, but I knew it wasn’t my place. Suddenly, memories of my mother lying covered with a sheet on a gurney flashed before my eyes. I prayed that wouldn’t be Jake’s fate. I’d never met him before, but I knew how important he was to Kyle and that made him important to me.
I stepped into the apartment behind him. “Wow.”
“What?”
“It’s just weird to think this apartment is in a hospital.” It was a homey two-bedroom place with a spacious living room and kitchen. “I mean, this is really nice. Is your whole family staying here?”
“Off and on. We go in shifts, so he’s never alone. I just got off mine before going for some food.”
Just then a pretty young woman with long brown hair walked out of the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. A sister, maybe? She looked up and startled when she saw us.
“Oh, geez. You scared me. I was starting to worry about you when you didn’t come back,” she said to Kyle, giving him a quick hug.
“Casey, this is…”
“Kenzie. I know,” she smiled, running her hands through her wet hair. “Sorry, I didn’t know Kyle was bringing home company, or I would have looked a bit more presentable. At least I have my clothes on, right?”
As I looked on, a knowing glance passed between them, and they smiled at one another. Definitely not a sister. Then it dawned on me. Oh, shit. This was Kyle’s girlfriend. It had never occurred to me that he might have one, but several months had passed since the filming, so, of course he did. I felt my walls go up. How stupid could I be? I thought I was here to help him through these rough times, but he already had someone for that.
In a gesture of greeting, Casey came in for a hug. Surprised, I returned it, and took a step back. “I’ve been watching you and Kyle on the show. I feel like I already know you,” she said.
Okay, so she wasn’t the jealous type. That was good. Kyle gave me a quizzical look, and then his eyes brightened as if a light bulb had gone off inside his head.
“Casey is Jake’s girlfriend,” he said to me.
“Oh.” My eyebrows danced in surprise. “Oh, I thought…”
