My head started to spin. “He what?”
“He requested we prioritize it and deliver it to you first thing. I apologize for being slightly delayed. Just need you to sign here that you received the keys.”
I signed the paper in a daze, barely managing to thank him before he left. I stared at my car keys for exactly thirty seconds before my phone was in my hand, dialing Julian’s number.
He picked up on the second ring. “Morning.”
“Julian Wade, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”
“Good morning, Alyssa,” he said again.
“We talked about this. After the condo, wespecificallytalked about this.”
“Your car was broken. Now it’s fixed.”
I paced my living room. “That’s not the point and you know it.”
“What’s the point?”
“The point is I’m not your responsibility. I can stand on my own two feet.”
He let out an exasperated breath, “You are standing on your own feet.”
“Not when you keep—” I took a deep breath, trying to lower my voice. “Julian, I appreciate the help. I do. But this pattern of you just handling things for mehasto stop.”
“Why?”
“Because I said so.”
Silence on his end. Then: “Alyssa. Is the car running?”
“That’s not the point.”
“Is it running, Alyssa?”
“Yes, but?—”
“Then it’s handled.”
I wanted to scream, why was this so hard for him to grasp? “You can’t just bulldoze through people’s boundaries because you think you know what’s best.”
“I’m not bulldozing anything. If I was bulldozing, I’d have done what I wanted to do, and bought you a new car. Ididn’tdo that. I got it fixed. Simple.”
My voice dropped. “How much was it?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“It does. I’m paying you back this time.”
“Alyssa, we’ve had this conversation. I’m not taking your money. Be happy your car is taken care of and move on.”
“What if I don’t want to move on?”
“Then that’s your choice. But the car stays fixed.”
I sank onto my couch, suddenly exhausted. “You’re impossible.”
“So are you. You’re still settling into town. New job, new routines. You don’t need a surprise headache to deal with. Are we not friends? Don’t friends help each other?”
