“Yeah. Okay. I’ll go,” I tell Sean.
“I want you to call me if you need to.”
“You think it’ll go that badly?” I ask.
He laughs a little. “No. But I figured you’re worried it will, so I extended the offer.”
“Thanks.” I smile despite myself. The alarm on his phone goes off, indicating the end of our session. I stand up and thank him and leave. As I walk to my car I check my phone and turn the ringer back on. The only message is from Finn reminding me we’re leaving at three for the bachelor party.
Nothing from Abbott. I shove my phone in my jeans and go back to my parents’ to pack. I begged Aspen to gather my stuff from Abbott’s and drop it all off there. She shockingly didn’t refuse and instead texted back that she would be by that night. And she was, with a suitcase of my clothes and toiletries, and her daughter strapped to her chest. “The furniture you’ll have to get yourself later. When you two get out of your own way and figure this out. Because Abbott is lightning and you’re a lightning rod.Hislightning rod. He doesn’t know how to love anyone but you, Deck.”
I didn’t respond. Not that she bothered to wait for a response. She stormed past me into my parents’ house and proceeded to spend the next twenty minutes letting my mom fawn all over Andie. I slinked off to my childhood bedroom but didn’t unpack anything. I wasn’t intending to make my parents’ place a permanent home. I was going to cut back on my payments to the hospital in New York so that I could afford an apartment in town.
As I drive home, I call the billing office of the hospital to negotiate a new payment amount. It takes the woman that answers longer than it should to find my account and I try not to get irked. Jesus, for a place that loves to remind me that I owe them money, they sure seem disorganized.
“Ah. Yes. I found it.” The woman sounds confused as she adds. “Did you say you’re calling to lower your payments?”
“Yes. I know that’s not what you want to hear and it’s not what I want to do, but—“
“You don’t have to lower the payments, because you don’t have any more payments,” she says casually. “I was having trouble finding your file because it’s been closed.”
“What? No.”
“Yes, Mr. Hawkins. You made your last payment, including interest, two days ago,” she informs me, and I swear to God I wonder if I should pinch myself, because this has got to be a dream.
“I still owe over twelve hundred bucks,” I argue.
Someone honks and I realize I’ve been stopped at a stop sign for far too long. I glance in my review, give a ‘my bad’ wave to a tourist with Canadian plates, and continue through the intersection.
“I’ve never had someone argue about an account that was paid in full,” the woman says with a chuckle.
“Well, as much as I would like to agree with you, it’s a mistake,” I tell her and kick myself mentally for being so honest. “Can you please look into it for me?”
“Umm… well, I can ask my supervisor to call you back.”
“Yeah. Fine. That works. Tell them I want a copy of the last payment please,” I say. She confirms I’ll get a call within two business days from her supervisor, but she still sounds baffled.
I am too, frankly. But I shove it from my mind because Logan is standing on the front porch. I park the car at the curb in front and get out, walking toward him and the house. “Hey.” Logan shoves his hands into the front pockets of his shorts. “Just wanted to say hi.”
“Hi. But you could have saved yourself the trip. I’ll be seeing you in an hour and a half anyway,” I tell him as I climb the stairs. “Finn has been texting all day.”
“He’s like a kid at Christmas,” Logan smiles. “You know who is the opposite of a kid at Christmas? Abbott.”
I inhale deeply but say nothing. Logan follows me through the front door. “Ma is at the restaurant and Dad is at Kazoo Band practice.”
“I know. Ma told me when I was over there this morning with River and Chloe.” Logan follows me up the stairs to the second floor. “She’s the one who told me you had moved back in here. She said you decided living with Abbott wasn’t your thing.”
“Shit, that reminds me, I have to tell Finn. He probably thinks he’s going to be picking me up at Abbott’s,” I mutter and start to pull my phone out of my pocket.
“I’m driving you,” Logan replies. “You, me, and the gear are in my car. Finn is heading up with Jake and stuff.”
“And stuff?” I repeat as I shove my phone back in my pocket. “Like food and beers?”
Before Logan can answer me, his earlier words dance through my brain again. I glance at him over my shoulder. “How do you know Abbott is in the opposite mood of Finn?”
“I met up with him this morning for coffee,” Logan says as we hit the upstairs landing, and I stop and look at him. “Don’t worry. He didn’t slip with booze or anything. But he’s upset.”
“So am I,” I snap defensively and then catch myself. “Sorry. I just… I got my hopes up with him this time. I really wanted to believe he would follow through.”
