Cash scoffs. “But Johns Hopkins is in Baltimore.”
“Screw medical school,” I say to Cash. “What do you really want to do with your life?”
He shrugs. “No idea.”
“I know what I want to do,” I tell him. “We can get an apartment, work, go to school, figure it out.”
“You should talk to Ingrid about that before you make any plans,” Cash warns.
“I will but think about it. Okay?”
“Okay,” he exhales.
By the time Ingrid is showered, in her pjs and has a glass of water on my bedside table, I’m wrecked.
I want to take a shower, but cuddling with her? I’d much rather do that.
“What movie are we going to watch?” Ingrid asks us.
“Your choice,” I say to her as I hand her the remote.
“Blood and gore,” she decides.
Cash crashes on his cot in the corner while Ingrid lays her head on my chest, her warm body molding perfectly to mine.
“I love you,” she whispers as her eyes close.
“I love you, too,” I say quietly.
“I also love you guys,” Cash adds in.
Ingrid laughs and before we’re five minutes into the movie, she’s already passed out.
Her family is done hurting her.
That ends today.
Chapter Thirty
The Allred Mansion
Cash
I’m still sharing a room with Wilder and Ingrid. We’ve been home for three days. I thought I’d get a break from their obnoxious cuddling and giggling once we got home. But when I woke up this morning, I couldn’t tell where Wilder ended and Ingrid began.
Maybe I should be happy for them.
Maybe some part of me is.
But I’m mostly annoyed. At myself, really.
Letting go isn’t as easy as it sounds. I’m trying. I miss her. Not the intimate stuff. But just knowing someone as long as I’ve known her. I felt comfortable and safe. My parents never made me feel that way, but she did.
If I have to let Ingrid go, at least I’m letting her go to someone who knows how lucky he is.
Which is why I’m pulling into the driveway of the Allred Mansion.
I haven’t been here in weeks.
