The cab takes forever in the thick New York traffic, but when I arrive home, Alex places a finger over his mouth before leaning in and kissing my cheek. So I turn my head for a full-on smooch, and his lips smile against mine.
“James is asleep in the spare room,” he whispers, pulling back. “And I’ve got an interview with Morgan Stanley’s office in Korea in about twenty minutes, so I’ll do that in our bedroom.”
“Sounds good.”
“He’s in a bad way, Des.” He grimaces. “He was talking about Jane and how much he’s always loved her.”
I close my eyes. “Christ. What a mess.” I fill him in on my conversation with Jane. “She’s doesn’t see anything beyond her own reality.”
“She sounds like a princess.”
“You’re not allowed to say things like that.”
“I am because I dated a few of them.”
I glower at him. I hate hearing about his dating history with women.
He grins at me. “Good job I switched to guys, huh?” He steps into me and nuzzles into my neck. “One very sexy guy in particular.”
I pull back and narrow my eyes at him. “Don’t think you’re going to get around me that way.”
He pulls back, shaking his head. “What are we going to do about him, Des? We’re leaving the country on the sixteenth. That’s like …” He studies his watch. “… six days away now.”
I yelp. “Six days?”
He nods.
“I have no idea what to do.” I stare at the warm side lights and the thick rug on the polished floor. Alex has done an amazing job of getting this place ready to rent while we’re away, though it’s all happened so fast that we’re way behind on getting it on the market. “I offered him this apartmentwhen he had a meltdown in the office almost a month ago. Maybe I could persuade him to stay here now. At least then he wouldn’t be living with Miss Oblivious, though of course he’d be on his own.”
Alex shakes his head. “He’s in no shape to live on his own, Des! He doesn’t seem right to me at all.”
“Tell me about it. “I don’t like it. I don’t like it at all.”
Alex shakes his head. “I’m sorry, Des. I’ve got to go and get ready for this interview. We’re going to have to talk about it later.”
I nod as he disappears into our bedroom and the apartment settles into a strange quiet. I stand there listening for sounds from the spare room, but there’s nothing. Just the low hum of the AC and the distant rumble of traffic.
I pad down the hall and crack the door open an inch. James is sprawled awkwardly on his side, one arm flung out, bandage stark against his skin. His face looks younger without his glasses, the sharp lines of worry smoothed away. If I hadn’t called their janitor Pat, if I’d waited another hour before panicking, would he have been okay? I ease the door shut again and lean my forehead against the wall. I’ve always thought of James as the steady one. The guy who shows up and never complains. Seeing him sprawled on that roof rattled something loose in me, and I have so little time to do anything about it. I can see him in that spare room in Brooklyn, blinds down, buried in a sci-fi book, waiting for Jane to remember he exists. Or worse, telling himself that this breakup is all somehow his fault.
I straighten up and move back down the hall. Whatever this is—depression, heartbreak, something darker—it isn’t going to sort itself out in the next six days, is it? And I am not leaving him here on his own and walking onto a plane pretending everything’s fine.
I glance back at the spare room. I’ve got to persuade him to live here and then find a way of making it work. One way or another, I can’t let him fall through the cracks.
Chapter 4
James
Two days after Des rescued me from the roof of my apartment building, I limp down the street toward the office. This is the last place I want to be, but things are too pressing for me to not be here.Just pretend everything’s fine.I reach up to the flesh-colored bandage hiding the stitches on my face. Alex found me something discreet from the pharmacy yesterday while he was out. Honestly, he’s such a nice guy. And even though the Band-Aid is helping and my pants are covering my leg, there’s still going to be a boatload of questions I don’t want to answer.
Is staying with Des and Alex any better than living with Jane? They’re at that early stage in their relationship when everything is sunshine and roses. Call me a cynic, but that phase only lasts for six months, and I’m not sure Jane and I ever went through it. We were childhood sweethearts: We watched TV alongside our parents and didn’t even hold hands in front of them. My heart aches for that innocent time.We were so young.
A buzzing in my pocket makes me reach for my phone:
Hey, handsome man. Your dad and I were talking about our visit! Let me know what works for you two!
Oh, Christ.My mom and dad come to New York every few months from Philly, where Jane and I grew up, and they’re always excited to visit “The Big Smoke,” as Mom calls it. They’re both teachers who spend all their spare time helping people less fortunate than themselves. I haven’t told them that Jane and I split up. And Jesus, they can’t see me in this state.Not so handsome now, Mom.
Things are a bit hectic at the moment. Des is about to leave for Korea. I’ll think about it and get back to you.
