Page 102 of The Challenge

“Well, that, too. But that’s not what I’m referring to.”

“What happened?”

I hadn’t seen him since the Halloween party. So I got him up to speed on the situation, starting with Chloe moving into the big house and ending with her hanging up on me.

“When did that happen?”

“A few days ago. I’ve called to check on her, but she either doesn’t answer or tells me she’s in the middle of something work-related.”

“What really bothered you about her ordering that stuff for Effie?”

I took a sip of my beer and stared down into the bottle. “Effie came home that night happier than I’d probably ever seen her. It made me scared.”

“Scared for her, or scared for you?”

I tightened my fist around the beer. “Maybe both.”

He nodded and then just stared at me for a few seconds. “Not everyone is Katerina, you know. It’s not fair to Chloe that you project what happened with your ex onto her.”

“Okay, but aside from my personal hangups, how could this not end badly when her entire life is back in Chicago? Even if she doesn’t mean to hurt Effie, she’s bound to.”

“Hurt Effie. Right. There you go again.”

“Okay.” I rolled my eyes. “Fuck you. Hurt us.”

“I don’t have all the answers here,” he said. “But my motto has always been where there’s a will, there’s a way. You haven’t given her a reason to want to give up her life in Chicago. You’ve had sex with her. That’s about it. Until you’re willing to chance getting hurt, you’re gonna continue to inadvertently act like a dick to protect yourself. That’s not going to win you any points or help your relationship evolve, monkey brains.”

I sighed. “Well, I can always count on you not to hold back.”

“That’s what I’m here for.”

I was grateful to have Drew for a sounding board. And he was right. This was my situation to figure out. I had a lot of fixing to do.

***

That afternoon, I dropped Effie at Drew and Maura’s while I went over to the house to make things right with Chloe.

Even though it was technically my house, I didn’t use my key to get in. Instead, I knocked. But it wasn’t Chloe who came to the door. It was Judy’s caretaker, Millie.

“Hi,” I said. “Is Chloe home?”

Millie shook her head. “She went to the storage unit for an hour.”

“Ah.” I let that sink in. Chloe had put the storage unit cleanout on hold recently. I’d taken that as a sign that she didn’t feel like she was going anywhere anytime soon. The fact that she’d resumed that was telling.

“How’s Judy?” I asked.

Millie’s expression was sullen. “Well, she’s sleeping now. But she had a rough morning. I think that’s why Chloe needed to get out for a bit.”

I’d been so stuck up my own ass when it came to Chloe that I hadn’t considered how hard it must be for her to live in this house, where everything looked like she remembered on the outside, but nothing was actually the same. And on top of that, Judy’s condition was deteriorating.

“Thank you,” I told Millie. “I’ll catch up with her over there.”

I got back in my truck and drove to the storage unit. When I arrived, the door was open, and I could see Chloe sifting through some of the remaining items.

“Hey…”

She flinched before she turned. “Oh my gosh.” She placed her hand on her chest. “You scared me. I assumed that was someone else’s truck I heard pull up.”