“Don’t cry. I’m coming over there.”
The one thing I want more than anything is to be wrapped in his arms. But I need time to think about this, and if he comes over here, he’ll just convince me it’s all going to be fine . . . and I need to know, by my own standards, that it will.
“I’m sure you have a million things to do,” I say instead.
“None of them are as important as this.”
My lip quivers. “I appreciate that. But I don’t want to make any bigger deal out of this than it already is,” I say truthfully. “And if you come over here like some kind of defender, ready to slay the dragon . . .”
“Oh, I’ll slay the son of a bitch. That I promise you.”
“See?” I laugh. “That’s what I mean. Plus, I’m supposed to go to work at Luxor tonight. Don’t you have some event or something?”
“Fuck,” he hisses.
“See? Just take care of you, and I’ll take care of us.”
The pause makes me regret my choice of words.
“Barrett?”
He sighs into the line. “I hate that I’m not a part of ‘us,’ you know?”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“No, it is. You look at me like I’m separate from you and your son, and that . . . it pisses me off, Alison.”
“That’s not how I look at it,” I retort. “But that is reality, Barrett. You have your thing you’re working on, and I have school and a job and a side job and a son. Yes, you are . . . my boyfriend, for a lack of a more suitable word, but that doesn’t mean . . .”
“What? That you don’t want me around?”
My shoulders slump as I fall onto the sofa, my head going into my hand. “I do want you around. But . . . I just need to process this. My son’s photo was taken by some asshole a little bit ago. I need to make sure Huxley is okay. I need to figure out what’s going to happen.” I take a deep breath.
“I’ll send Troy over. He can be your—”
“I don’t want Troy here. I can take care of this.”
“Damn it, Alison. Let me help you!”
“You do help me. Look at you, ready to jump in and save the day. I love that about you, Barrett. But . . .”
I try to push back the thoughts rippling through my mind. Taking a deep breath, I know I’m going to have to confront the reality that’s just smacked me in the face. Glancing at my watch, I realize I don’t have a lot of time before I have to either go to Luxor or call off, and I need to talk to Huxley.
“Barrett? I really need to go. I need to talk to Huxley, call the police station, and then decide if I’m going to work tonight or not.”
“Why do our lives feel so separate?” His voice is so lonely that it makes my heart hurt. “I want to take you with me tonight. I want to be able to see Huxley and make sure he’s okay too.”
“He will be. I’ll make sure of it,” I whisper. “I’ll tell him you asked about him.”
“I’ll call you later?”
The way he asks it instead of states it hurts.
“Yes. Please call me later.”
“Okay. Talk to you soon, baby.”
“Bye, Barrett.”