“You okay?”
I turned to see the driver lean in with concern in his gaze. My heart was beating so loud, I could barely hear his words over the whooshing sound echoing in my ears. Not wanting him to think that I was a crazy person, I slowly nodded.
“Yes,” I whispered as I turned back to the door.
“Is this your home?” he asked when I didn’t move to turn the handle.
My hand flew out and my fingers wrapped around the cold metal. “Yep, mm-hmm,” I said as I tried to turn it. The handle didn’t budge.
So I knocked. It felt like an eternity before the sound of the locks disengaging could be heard, and then the door was pulled open. Relief flooded my body when my gaze landed on Bash. He looked surprised to see me standing there.
“Sabrina?” His gaze dropped down to Samuel and then back up to me. “What are you…?”
He must have picked up on my desperate gaze because he stepped forward, wrapped his hand around Samuel’s car seat and took it from me. “Come in,” he said as he retreated back into the apartment.
I followed after him, my steps feeling heavy. I was grateful that he was taking charge. With the way my brain was short-circuiting, I didn’t have the capacity to think for myself. I stood in the kitchen while the driver brought in my luggage. His conversation with Bash was low, and the sound of the front door shutting marked his departure.
It felt good to be back, but only because it was familiar. I’d spent the last few days living a life that wasn’t mine in a city I’d never been to. Here, I had Abigail and the drama that came from our relationship, but I also had history. I had monotony that, until now, I hadn’t realized I was craving.
“Everything okay?” Bash carried Samuel as he walked into the kitchen. I could tell that he was hesitant and didn’t want to push me, which was why he was staying to the outskirts of the room.
“I…got fired,” I whispered. Though I wasn’t sure if I could use that term. Bonnie never used the words fired, let go, or terminated. She just said that Liam didn’t need my services anymore. I was still so confused as to what had happened. We had been too close for him to suddenly disappear and have someone else tell me that we were done.
“Fired? For what?” Bash leaned against the counter and shifted Samuel so he was now facing him, resting on his arms. Bash grinned at Samuel, who gave him a gummy smile back.
I shrugged. “I don’t know. He just fired me this morning.” I swallowed against the lump of emotions that had lodged themselves in my throat. I glanced around. “That’s why I’m back.” I met Bash’s gaze again. “Where’s Abigail?”
He studied me for a moment. “She’s out with Emery.”
I frowned. “Emery?”
He nodded. “My sister-in-law.”
“She’s here?”
He nodded again. “She’s spending some time here while we get the hotel ready.”
“Oh.”
He was silent for a moment. “Want me to call her and tell her that you’re back?”
I wanted to say no. I wanted a minute to get my story straight before I dove into an emotionally charged conversation with my sister. I knew we needed to have it, I just wasn’t ready for it quite yet.
I took in a deep breath and nodded. “I guess.”
24
SABRINA
I felt like a little kid waiting for her father to come home to dole out her punishment. Even though I was a grown woman and older than Abigail, the anxiety inside of me was at an all-time high as I sat at the dinner table, waiting for her.
My luggage was still sitting in the entryway of the apartment. After I used the bathroom, I’d sneaked a look into my old room to see that Emery and Timothy had been sleeping in there while I was gone. I tried not to take offense to that. After all, Emery had no idea what had transpired between Abigail and me. And, truthfully, I’d been the one to leave. Abigail was just using the resources she had to help Emery out.
If I wasn’t going to use the room anymore, then why shouldn’t someone else use it?
I sighed as I tapped my fingers on the table. Bash was in the living room, sitting on the couch with one arm draped over the back. I was grateful that he didn’t feel the need to engage me in conversation. That we could be okay just sitting in silence.
Samuel was passed out on Abigail’s bed. The trip had exhausted him. I was grateful that he wasn’t awake for this. I wasn’t sure what Abigail was going to say, but if she was going to yell at me, I wanted to protect his little ears.
