MASON: I’m going to New York for an expo for a few weeks, but maybe after that I’ll come back to Cali and drive up to see you.
HOPE: I’d like that.
MASON: Love you, sis.
I told him I loved him, too, and set my phone in the cup holder. I finished making my bed and curled into a ball. It was really uncomfortable, but it would do for the night.
The forest outside the windows was eerily dark, and even with the doors locked, I felt more exposed than usual.
My phone pinged again, and I groaned. “Mason, please leave me alone.” I was done. I just wanted to sleep. Thinking it was him, I checked the screen, the light illuminating the car.
JAY: You doing okay?
My heart skipped, my stomach fluttering. It was the first message he’d sent since my panic attack at work. I hesitated, unsure what to say.
Yeah, I’m fine. My cabin is infested with mice and needs to be torn down, so I’m sleeping in my brother’s car. How are you?
I sighed and decided not to respond. It was late enough that maybe he’d think I was asleep.
Just one more thing I would put off and deal with in the morning.
CHAPTER 21
Iwalked into work the next day, a complete zombie. Sleeping in the Honda had left me with a kinked neck and a severely sore spine. I couldn’t help but yawn as I entered the break room and put my stuff into my locker at sloth-like speed.
“What happened to you?” Tyler asked, quickly noticing my exhausted demeanor.
“I slept horribly last night,” I replied, turning to Tyler to show him the dark circles under my eyes.
“Why didn’t you sleep?” Macey asked as she heated her breakfast burrito in the community microwave, the same thing she had every morning.
“Turns out my cabin is infested with mice.”
“What?” both Tyler and Macey said simultaneously, their eyes widening in shock.
“Hope, that’s horrible. I’d let you stay at my place, but I’m currently couch surfing,” Macey said as the microwave beeped. She retrieved her breakfast burrito, then hurried over to hug me. “I wish I could give you a place to stay.”
“You could stay with me. I have a few other college roommates, so we don’t have any extra bedrooms, but you could take my room, and I could sleep on the floor in the living room,” Tyler offered.
“How chivalrous of you, Ty,” Macey said with a wink.
“No, it’s okay. I’ll figure it out. I appreciate you guys offering, though.” I was touched that they’d even offered. But I was really hoping to have this figured out by tomorrow. I didn’t want to impose on people or stay in a house full of strangers. Well, Tyler and Macey weren’t strangers, but the Flossy Posse definitely wasn’t at sleepover level yet.
Our conversation was interrupted when Jenn, Erica, Shelby, and Devin entered the room.
It wasn’t a usual occurrence to have everyone in the break room at once, which could only mean one thing: a group meeting.
Just then, Dr. Jay walked in, dressed in fresh olive-green scrubs and his white lab coat.
“Sorry for the unannounced meeting, but I have some things I need to discuss with you all,” Jay said.
“We’ll talk about this more later,” Macey whispered, patting me on the shoulder as we all took our seats at the break room table.
I sat between Macey and Tyler.
“We need to talk about the Wellness Fair and our annual office outing. I’d like to go over what’s happening at the market tomorrow and then get some ideas from you all on what activity you’d like to plan for next week,” Dr. Jay said, opening his notebook and getting his pen ready to take notes.
Maybe it was because I was so tired and my brain wasn’t functioning, but I could’ve sworn I’d never heardany announcement about a staff meeting. I must not have been in the office when it was announced.
