Don't Go There (Awkward Love 5)

That gets a reaction.

He frowns. “I’ll think about it. Okay?”

I nod. I don’t need to point out that time is running out.

“Oh, Frederick? I need my car back.”

“Right. About that.”

He glares at me. “Where the fuck is my car?”

“You, uh, you might want to try tracking down a guy named Hamish.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” he thunders.

“We picked up a hitchhiker—”

“In my car?” he interrupts, his eyes blazing.

“Well, yes. He turned out to be a little mentally unstable.”

“Unstable how?”

“Enough that he took off in your car. After masturbating in the back, while talking to me about shit like the weather.” I pause. “He also sucker punched me.”

Julian laughs. “Well this is fucking perfect. Then hand over the keys to your car.”

I silently reach into my pocket and hand them to him.

“Is there anything else I should know that I’m going to want to kill you for?” he grumbles, eyeing me suspiciously.

“Not that I can think of?” I ignore the uneasy feeling in my gut and pat him on the back.

“Don’t stress,” I say. “We’ll sort it out.”

He laughs. “Don’t stress? I’m getting married today. Why the fuck would I be stressed?”

I think that went well.Chapter SeventeenKatie“So, do you want to talk about it?”

I sit down on the edge of the bed next to Lily, while Darcy sits on the floor.

Lily stares at the same spot, not saying a word. Eventually, Darcy goes to stand up.

“Maybe I should—”

“No,” Lily cuts in. “It’s fine.” She even manages a smile, an embarrassed look on her face.

“Tell me what’s going on with you,” I say, frowning at her.

“If I tell you, will you leave me alone?” she mutters sullenly.

“Probably not,” I admit.

I reach for her hand. She lets me take it, wiping her eyes with her other hand. I glance at Darcy, not sure how hard to push for information, or even whether this is serious. What if this is just another one of her attempts to seek attention? Maybe I do help her too much, but I’m not going to turn my back on her if she really needs me. There’s something wrong. I’m sure of it. It’s not just the usual trivial Lily stuff, either.

“I’m not going to force you to tell me, but just know I’m here.” I say to her. “You know I’m not going to judge you, right?”

“Me neither,” Darcy pipes up. “God knows I’ve done enough to ensure I never judge anyone.”

Lily smiles. She breaks her hand away from mine and leans forward, covering her face with her hands. The tears that roll down her cheeks aren’t an act. I’m sure of that much.

“I appreciate everything you do, Katie,” she mumbles through her tears. “I know I don’t always show it, but I do. This time even you can’t help me, though.”

“Still, talking about it might help,” I gently coax her.

She’s quiet for a moment, then she starts to speak.

I didn’t mean for it to happen.” She looks up at the ceiling, fixated on one spot. “I ran into him at a hotel, where I was staying at with a friend. We’d been to see a show and—” She laughs and shakes her head. “That’s not really the important bit, huh? Anyway, on the way back to our rooms, I ran into Julian.” She smiles, her cheeks glowing as she speaks about him. “I hadn’t seen him in years, Katie. He looked so good. We got to talking, he asked me to come back to his room for a drink.”

She stands up and walks over to the sink and pours herself a glass of water. I watch her as she takes a sip, then sets the glass down. Her arms crossed over herself, she walks back over to me and sits down.

“We had a drink and caught up with each other’s lives. He told me that he and his girlfriend had gotten into a major fight and split up …” She laughs and shakes her head. “I thought he was single, so I spent the night in his room. The next morning when I woke up, he was gone.”

“Wow.” I’m shocked. “I had no idea. When was this?”

“About three months ago.” she says. She smiles through her tears. “I don’t know what I thought was going to happen, but getting up and finding him gone, like it meant nothing to him?” She laughs. “There was no note or anything. He was just gone. Then two weeks later, I find out he’s getting married.”

“Shit,” I mutter.

I’m so annoyed at Julian. Even if he regretted it, he didn’t have to treat her like something he stepped in. Leaving without so much as a goodbye? That’s weak.

“I’m sorry you had to go through that,” I say honestly. “Is that what coming here was about?”

“God, no.” She laughs. “I’d have just as happily moved on from that as fast as he did. But then I started feeling sick.”