He nods.
That also can mean only one thing. I shift in the chair, holding the blanket around me a little tighter. “Does that mean Darius talked about…me there?”
“They’re really close, Taylor,” Allie interjects softly. “And Micah just asked how you were doing, that’s all.”
Micah nods. “Darius isn’t at fault here. I brought it up—”
I wave him off. I can’t hate that Darius has close friends. “Thanks for worrying enough to ask about me. This isn’t anyone’s fault.”
Allie gives me a soft smile of obvious relief and adds, “They’re looking into it more to see if they can find out who is spying on them there.”
Unreal. A spy? Even I couldn’t believe it. To Micah I say, “You do realize you all lead very fucked-up lives, right?”
He nods. “Sadly, yes.”
“It’s just crazy,” says Allie, glancing at Micah with nothing but fierce love in her eyes. “None of you should have to deal with this. You shouldn’t be so afraid to live your lives because someone is going to tell the world personal things about you.”
His eyes warm as he brushes a finger across her cheek.
I glance away, feeling like I’m invading a very private moment between them.
But apparently I’m the only one who thinks so, because Micah’s voice turns my head. “I’m so very sorry you are dealing with this, Taylor.”
“Thanks,” I reply, feeling a heavy weight of despair fill my chest. “Ugh. There’s just so much to think about I don’t even know where to start to fix it all.” I shut my eyes once more, blowing out a long, deep breath to shed the remaining adrenaline rushing through me. And as the seconds drag on, I realize someone is missing. If Allie and Micah knew about the tabloid story, so did Darius.
I reopen my eyes, sitting up a little. “Where’s Darius?”
Micah answers, “I stopped by his home earlier and he asked me to come see you to make sure you were okay.”
My heart sinks a little when Allie adds, “I guess he’s going out with Alex again. They’re trying to get the focus back on him.”
Of course I hope that tomorrow’s tabloids aren’t about me, but I can’t fight off the sting of his absence. I don’t want Darius with Alex. I want him with me, comforting me with his touch like Micah’s comforting Allie. “What story is he giving the tabloids now?”
/> Allie rises and goes into the kitchen to pour two glasses of wine and grab Micah a beer as he explains, “He’s setting up a scene where Alex walks up to see him kissing another one of Ryder’s investigators. Alex is going to slap him across the face and they’re going to have a screaming match on the street.”
I sigh, shaking my head. “I don’t see how changing one story of abuse with another is helping anyone.”
“No,” Allie says, returning to us, offering Micah his beer before handing me my glass of wine. “But I don’t doubt that Darius would rather the focus be on him than on you.”
That’s sweet, is what I should say. But I can’t force the words from my mouth. I can only stare at Allie as I lift the glass to my mouth and take a sip of the dry red wine, wishing it was the vodka I planned on getting. She knows exactly how I feel because we’ve had this conversation before. Darius isn’t where he should be. I want him here.
My heart clenches, but I force the thoughts away. I know what Darius can give me. He never made me any promises. And, in fact, he was very clear about this thing between us only being sex. I guess my heart just forgets that sometimes. “Will he call when it’s all taken care of?”
Micah nods. “That is the plan.”
Allie pats my knee and smiles. “We’ll stay here until we know that everything is settled. So, since the movies is clearly a no-go, how about we get takeout?”
“As long as it’s greasy and comes with fries, I’m so in,” I reply.
“Done.” Micah rises from his seat, grabbing his cellphone from his pocket, and moves to the wall of windows.
Allie slides into his spot, closer to me, and takes my hand. “It’s going to be all right,” she says. “Soon the tabloids will forget all about you and move on to someone else.”
It feels wrong to want that. But it feels even more horrible not to want that. “God, this is such a disaster. I cannot imagine this getting any worse.”
A loud knock on the door snaps my head up. Before anyone can even open it, two people are charging into the room. I heave the longest sigh of my life, staring at my very angry parents. Now probably wasn’t the best time to regret putting my parents on my approved list of visitors. “Nope, I’m wrong. This can absolutely get worse, and it just did.”
Darius