I shook my head, blinking back tears.“I need to make it to the station before the bus leaves.”
Liam tilted my chin up, but I refused to meet his gaze.This was hard enough without having to look him in the eye while I did it.
“Maya, why are you doing this?”
Something inside me snapped.“Because I can’t stay!”I spun out of his grasp.“I let Nana down, Liam.I was supposed to take care of her, and look what happened!If I can’t do that, what good am I?”Tears spilled from my eyes, but I couldn’t stop.“She doesn’t need me anymore.She’ll move into the assisted living residence, and as much as I hate it, I know it’s for the best.She’ll have professionals looking out for her twenty-four hours a day, and after last night, I know that’s what she needs.But if I’m not taking care of her, then what’s the point of me being here?”
I’d planned to stay until the end, looking after Nana the way she had looked after me, but tonight proved I wasn’t capable of that.
Like my parents, she’d have a better life without me around.
Liam scrubbed a hand down his face, his frustration evident.“You sound insane right now.You know that, right?Nana loves you.She doesn’t blame you.She went out for a walk and forgot her jacket.That’s it.It was a coincidence.It’s not your fault.”
A harsh laugh ripped from my throat.“Of course it’s my fault!I was the one who was here.I was theonlyone who was here, if you recall.”My voice hardened, twisting into a cruel mockery of itself.“Because you left.Again.”
He recoiled.Good.Let him hurt as much as I did.Maybe then he’d let me go without a fight.
“Just promise me you’ll stay long enough to get her settled into her new home before you run back to the city again.You can at least do that, can’t you?”
“Maya…”
I waited for what felt like forever, but he said nothing more.
I sniffled, nodding to myself.“That’s what I thought.”My voice wobbled, but I pushed through.“I’m sure you can convince Greg to handle it when you disappear again, like he handled all the phone calls when you were too busy being an important marketing guy, or whatever the hell you were up to instead of visiting your grandmother.”
I turned away, packing the rest of my socks and underwear into my bag.There was no bad situation that wasn’t made worse by wet socks and dirty underwear.Especially a situation like not knowing where you’d be sleeping every night.
“Maya, stop,” he pleaded, his voice soft.“You don’t have to do this.”
I zipped the duffel and turned to face him.“I do.If you knew anything about my relationship with your Nana, you would understand.”
We locked eyes, the silence between us crackling with unspoken tension, before Liam shook his head, grabbed his clothes, and dressed as walked out the door.
The moment he was out of sight, my shoulders sagged with guilt.I shouldn’t have said those things, but I needed him to leave me alone.It was hard enough to work up the courage to leave without him standing there telling me all the reasons I should stay.
I headed to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and took a steadying breath before going back to the bedroom.
Time to go.Or at least, it would have been if Harold hadn’t draped himself across my bag like he was posing for whatever the feline version of a figure-drawing art class was called.
The massive, furry bastard had smothered the entire thing, his enormous fuzzy belly spilling over the sides.His tail flicked lazily as he gave me the world’s most condescending side-eye.
“Harold, get off.I need that.”
He blinked slowly and treated me to a yawn so wide I think I glimpsed his intestines.I gave him my best glare, but he would not budge.
“Come on, move your fat ass.I’m not joking.”I grabbed a strap and tugged, but he snuggled down harder, somehow making himself twice as heavy.I groaned with the effort of trying to move him.Man, I regretted not putting him on the weight-control diet the vet recommended.
“Harold!Get.Off.My.Bag!”I yanked again, and still nothing happened.The cat was a goddamn anchor.I needed a new plan.
I marched to the kitchen and grabbed a tube of his favourite salmon paté treat.
“Oh, Harold,” I cooed as I opened the package and squeezed it into a shallow dish.“I have your favourite treat.Want some?You just have to come to the kitchen to get it.”
A frustrated meow came from the other room, but nophwumpof his huge body hitting the floor followed.He was playing hard to get.
Damn it.
“It’s pink salmon,” I called, injecting my voice with more sweetness I didn’t feel.“You love pink salmon.”
