Down Fall (Fallen Duet 2)

* * *

LOLA

“I swear, my hands feel like they’re gonna fall off,” Cade groaned as he pulled his bag from his locker.

I chuckled, knowing exactly what it felt like to have to wash pots and pans all day long. It destroyed your hands in a way no one ever knew about. “When you go to bed, lather them in cream, more than you think they need, and it’ll help,” I told him, getting my own bag from my locker.

He grinned. “Yeah?”

“Yep.”

We’d both been on the same shift today, and I had to admit, having Cade around for the last week or so had been better than I expected. I wasn’t sure what it was going to be like looking at his face nearly every day, but it was the same as it always had been.

Today was the first time we walked out of the diner together, and I just hoped it wasn’t Brody picking him up but Moira instead. The last thing I needed was another awkward exchange and my emotions to be put through the wringer. They were doing enough of that on their own without anyone to help.

Who knew pregnancy was so back and forth? I thought all I’d have to deal with was sickness and nausea, possibly a little heartburn. No one ever told me I’d be crying at puppies as they ran across the park, or that I’d get choked up because I’d forgotten to buy ginger ale.

I was turned completely upside down and back to front.

Cade held the main door open for me, and I smiled in thanks, already making a plan to escape as soon as I walked through it.

“Hey, you want my mom to give you a ride?” I blinked at Cade and looked over at Moira who was waiting in her SUV. Thank god it was her. Cade pulled open the door. “Mom? Give Lola a ride?”

Moira glanced at me, and I opened my mouth to tell her that it was fine, I could walk, but she nodded her head and smiled. “Of course. Hop in.”

I really didn’t want to “hop in” but my feet were begging me, and my back had decided I couldn’t walk another ten steps, so I pulled open the back door and slid into the too cool car. What the hell was I doing? I shouldn’t be sitting in this car.

Crap.

There was no way I could get out of this now. Maybe I could say I forgot something and hide until they were gone? My aching body decided for me, and my arm moved to pull my belt on.

“Thanks, Moira,” I said, shivering at the cool air blasting through the vents.

“No worries.” She fluffed her hair and adjusted her mirror. “Where to?”

I reeled off my address to her, and leaned back in the seat, praying this would all be over in a couple of minutes. Note to self: never walk out of the diner with Cade again.

“So,” Moira started as she pulled out of the lot. “I hear you know my husband.” My breath caught in my throat, and for a second, I thought she’d call me out, but then she continued, “Cade said you met each other at one of his tutoring sessions.”

I frowned. Cade knew that we knew each other before that. He’d been there for the whole exchange. Was this some kind of test? I thought it’d only been Hut who did tests, not normal people too.

“I...yeah.” I shuffled on the seat and looked out the window, cringing at being in such close confines with the woman whose husband I’d had sex with. Crap, it was not time to think about that situation right now. My hand automatically touched my stomach, and I lifted it, my eyes widening. I really had to stop doing that.

“And, of course, you met him the other day in the diner.” She pushed some hair behind her ear and took the turn into the road my apartment was on. Thank god I lived so close because I didn’t know if I could be in this car any longer. She didn’t mention the fact they’d argued in the diner, and neither did I, even though a small part of me was satisfied at the thought that they had.

“Just up here,” I said, and pointed even though she couldn’t see me.

“Is it safe here?” Moira asked, her eyes wide as she pulled her SUV to a stop. Her gaze caught mine in the mirror, and I frowned. Was she being serious?

I tried to look at the apartment building from her eyes. There was a bunch of rowdy teenagers standing on the right side of the main doors, and the security camera that was supposed to point at the door was turned to face the wall. The bottom row of windows had bars on them, but I was pretty sure that was standard in buildings like these. It was the nicest place I’d lived, but maybe Moira wasn’t used to that. I almost scoffed—she probably lived in a mansion.

“It’s safe,” I said, grabbing my bag and moving to open the door. “I’ve lived in a lot worse.”

“You have?” She worried her bottom lip, and if I wasn’t mistaken, I’d have said she was concerned with that fact.

“Yeah.” I nodded. “I only moved here a few weeks ago. Before that, I lived in Cresthill.”

She blinked several times, her face carefully blank of any expression, and then she smiled wide. “Then it really must be safe to you!” Her voice was entirely too loud, and even Cade stared at her like she’d grown an extra head in the last ten seconds.