No. I'm really not. I shake my head.
"Yeah. You are. Kaylee is an adult. She knows what she wants. If you can't handle that, then you don't deserve to be around her at all."
"Fuck off."
"Strong words for someone who needs my help so badly he's here at four a.m.," he says.
"We're about to be business partners. You're stuck with me."
He chuckles. "No. I want to work with you. I come into work every day because I want to be there. And you do too. You think Ryan or Dean does anything they don't want to do?"
"You have a point?"
"What happened with Kay? What did she do?"
"Crossed a line she shouldn't have." But that isn't the problem. Not exactly. It's my fucking head.
"For good reason?"
"Yeah." I get it. I want to peel back every wall around her heart. I've seen her journal and thought about taking a peek. I've been tempted.
"You really aren't a talker."
"You just figuring that out?"
He shakes his head. "Everybody makes mistakes. Fuck knows I've made a lot. You too. But it doesn't have to be a life sentence. We can all grow. Change. Get better."
I squirm in my seat. This kind of earnesty is not my thing. "Thanks."
"You want to watch this weight loss bullshit or you want to watch something good?"
"Depends on your definition of good?"
He chuckles. "Trust me."
"Not sure I do."
"You should. You need somebody's help to figure this shit out. And I don't see you calling Ryan or Dean."
"Have you always been this much of a know it all?"
He nods. "But it's very fucking lucky for you that I do know everything."
Chapter Twenty-Four
Kaylee
A shower, makeup, and the perfect skater dress oxford shoes outfit do wonders to hide the ache in my gut.
But they do nothing to lessen it.
This is all my fault.
I fucked up.
I need to find a way to fix it.
Later.