Boom - Sabrina Stark Page 0,104

been thrilled to give her the grand tour – minus the attic, of course.

I'd gotten the key from Brody not too long after he'd changed the locks. Would he be wanting the key back, now that we weren't together?

Probably.

Like everything else today, the thought wasn't a cheery one.

Next to me, Cami was saying, "And we went to the beach nearly every day. That sounds like a vacation to me."

She was being way too generous. It was true that we'd spent lots of time at the beach. But mostly this involved walking along the shoreline while I whined about Brody.

But today, the topic of Brody was firmly off-limits. I'd made that promise – if only to myself – and I fully intended to keep it.

I said, "Well, it was no spa vacation, that's for sure."

"Forget the spa," she said. "I already told you, that's not why I came."

I believed her. Really, I did. And yet, I couldn't shake the feeling that something was truly bothering her.

Hesitantly, I said, "Is anything else on your mind?"

"Eh, nothing big."

I stopped walking. "Wait. So something is wrong? What is it?"

She stopped walking, too. "Don't worry. It's nothing important."

I studied her face. Oh yeah. She was definitely hiding something. "Then tell me," I urged. "What's wrong?"

"Alright. The thing is…" Her shoulders slumped. "I sort of lost my job."

My stomach sank. "What?" In the back of my mind, I had visions of Cami getting fired for taking the week off to spend time listening to me complain. "Oh, my God. I didn’t realize you had a job."

"I don't," she said. "I mean, yeah, I've been doing some tutoring on the side. But I meant the job I'm supposed to be starting in the fall."

My heart went out to her. "Oh, no. Not your teaching job?" In September, Cami was supposed to begin teaching second grade at a wonderful little school not too far from Michigan State.

Cami blew out a long, shaky breath. "Yup. That's the one."

"What happened?"

"She decided not to retire."

"Who? The teacher you were replacing?"

Cami nodded. "That's the one."

"Oh, gosh. I'm really sorry. When did you find out?"

"Just yesterday."

I winced. "And you never said anything?"

Cami shook her head. "Nah, it was too depressing to mention."

I knew why, too. We'd been so focused on my problems that she hadn't wanted to add hers to the mix.

Now I felt really terrible. And guilty. And stupidly helpless.

I said, "Do you have any other offers?"

"Not yet." She tried to smile. "But I'm sure something will come up."

I wasn't so sure. Yes, Cami was truly amazing, but now she was getting a late start compared to everyone else. Probably, all the good jobs had been filled already.

At something in my expression, Cami said, "Oh, stop it. It'll be fine." With a smile, she said, "And if I don't get anything, I'll just go back to school, maybe work on my master's degree 'til next year."

The idea made sense. And yet I knew all too well how eager she'd been to get a full-time teaching job, along with the full-time paycheck to match.

By the time we started walking again, my mind was already churning, trying to think of some way to help.

For starters, I decided, I could try to be better company.

So that's what I did, all the way back, working like crazy to make up for how glum I'd been all week. And who knows, I might've been able to keep it up, too – if not for what I saw when we neared the crew house.

It was Brody's truck in the driveway.

Chapter 61

Arden

I found Brody in his bedroom, gathering up his stuff.

From the open doorway, I watched in agitated silence as he shoved wadded clothing into his duffle bag.

He was working hard and fast, as if the house were on fire or poisoned with toxic waste. He had to know that I was standing here. And yet, he kept on going, like I was utterly invisible.

Finally, I spoke up. "So you're leaving?"

He was wearing the same thing he usually wore – jeans and a T-shirt. His posture was stiff, and the muscles in his arms bulged as he turned to face me. In a tight voice, he said, "It's either me or you."

I bit my lip. His words stung even if they weren't exactly surprising.

When I said nothing in reply, he added, "I'll be gone in five."

"Five what?" I swallowed. "Minutes?"

"That's what I said."

"Actually, you didn't say. I mean, you could have meant five hours. Or five days." Or a