Page 29 of To Obsess

“I’ve been knocking for like twenty damn minutes, Violet. Seriously, where are your manners?” With a huff, she pushes past me into the living room, dumping the contents of her arms onto the couch.

“Planning to move in finally?” I ask grumpily, padding to the kitchen on bare feet. She brought books, folders, a headset, and a couple things I can’t even begin to recognize. She ignores my jest, organizing the mess without a word.

I turn back to her, giving her my best death glare as I press the button to start the coffee pot. She surprises me by smiling and extending a cup as a peace offering. “I thought you might need some coffee if you were dead enough to not be answering your phone at ten thirty.”

I glance to the empty pot sitting on the kitchen counter, thankful she’s good at anticipating what I need most days.

She shrugs one shoulder as her smile widens further. “You’re going to need all the coffee you can get today, judging by those suitcases under your eyes, my dear.” Ouch. I must look extra rough this morning then.

“You get set up in the living room, and I’ll go see if I can do something about this face real quick.” I head up the stairs, stop by the bathroom to do a quick wash of my face, change out of my nighttime pajamas into my daytime lounging set, and snag my phone, unlocking the screen as I stop at the top of the stairs.

There’s a message from Mason waiting for me. My heart drops as I read the one-word response to my question.

I have a lot to get done today. I don’t have time to overthink that message. He laid his heart out to me when we talked last. Surely, I didn’t ruin everything by not immediately reciprocating.

I pause with my foot hovering between the landing and top step. Sighing, I turn and toss my phone onto my bed. The last thing I need today is a distraction. I need to get through this podcast, get it edited, and upload it to the network so it can go out on time tomorrow.

Bounding down the stairs and into the living room, I put on my best face as I plop onto the couch, messing up Abby’s perfectly organized stacks of papers. She gives me her best glare as she straightens them with a huff.

We’ve been friends long enough that this is just part of who we are now. She oversteps and gives advice where it isn’t really wanted, and I make a total mess of everything and add some chaos to the mundane tasks of our everyday lives. It works for us.

“Ready?” she asks, slipping on her headphones.

I nod, sliding mine over my ears and adjusting them until they’re comfortable. No matter how many times we sit down to do this, I still get butterflies.

Thirty minutes later, we’ve exhausted all of the thoughts we had planned to discuss today when I decide it’s time to tell her about last night.

“So, we’ve talked about the cards and how they all came about. We’ve talked about the recent ones and how my love life seems to have affected them, at least in their frequency,” I begin, throat feeling a little too tight to be comfortable.

Abby nods, allowing me the room to finish what I’ve started. No turning back now.

“What we haven’t yet discussed is the card I got last night when I had Mason over. Or at least I assume it showed up then. I found it right after you got to the house. I saw something glint from the back yard, for the second time last night, when I went to get the spoons, and when I stepped onto the porch, it was laying there with nobody in sight.” I swallow, waiting for the information to sink in. I haven’t given our listeners all of the information about Mason—just that he’s involved and a great guy with some potential for a relationship, I hope. No names (only his first initial), nothing to identify him, just in case there are local people listening and things don’t go well in the end.

Abby’s jaw drops, eyes widening to cartoonish levels. “Wait, wait, wait a damned minute. You didn’t even tell me about this new card! What does it say? Do you still have it? We need all the details!”

I half jog to the kitchen, snag it off the table, and toss it to her lap before taking my place back on the couch. She reads it aloud for the podcast, eyes shooting back to mine the second she’s done.

“Girl. I don’t even know what to make of this one,” she says, voice low and even. “It seems….more controlled than some of the more recent ones. More standoffish maybe.”

“You think so? I felt like maybe he’s getting the point that I can’t keep doing this with him forever. I don’t even know who the hell he is,” I reason. “I’ve been getting these cards from him for two decades. Recently, they’re coming more often and with additions. Weird things have been happening, but I still don’t have the slightest clue who he is.”

“You’ve got a point there. I’m dying to know what our listeners think of this new development in your chaotic love life,” she laughs.

“Me too,” I agree with a smile. “All I know is I can’t make any sort of decision about what my happiness looks like without being able to see the full picture. So, K, if you’re out there listening, perhaps it’s time for you to come forward and let me know who you are. I deserve to be able to make decisions with all the pieces in place, don’t you think?”

Chapter 27

KILLIAN

“Oh, sweet Violet,” I laugh, hitting pause on the most recent podcast. It was uploaded late yesterday evening, a day behind schedule, not like anyone was constantly refreshing the website or anything. Definitely not me, for sure.

Her voice rings through my head, her taunt replaying over and over. “So, K, if you’re out there listening, perhaps it’s time for you to come forward and let me know who you are. I deserve to be able to make decisions with all the pieces in place, don’t you think?”

Now that you mention it, sweet girl, I think you might be onto something. You do deserve to have all of the pieces, but that just isn’t how life works, darling. It definitely isn’t how things are going to work between you and me. You get the pieces of the puzzle when I say so, not when you decide you deserve them.

I’d be lying if I said having a little confrontation with her hadn’t sounded appealing as she’d talked with Abby about the latest cards and flowers, but I’m enjoying the way things are going right now, and I’m not about to ruin that. Although if I’m being honest, it was more than a little difficult to not burst into her house the other night when she was talking with Mason about a committed relationship.

In the moment, I’d been beyond proud of her, even if seeing the interaction set my blood on fire. I wanted her to want that future with me, not him. I could provide everything she could ever want or need, both physically and emotionally. Of course, how would she know that when she doesn’t even know who I am?