after one in the morning. Knowing I need to be on campus tomorrow makes me groan. “I have to be up in like five hours, Easton. Go to bed.”
I’m tempted to bury myself under the blankets and ignore him until he leaves, but there’s distance on his face that makes me heft out a sigh instead. There’s something on his mind. I just hope it’s worth being woken up in the middle of the night over.
“We got robbed,” he murmurs.
Fully awake now, I reach out and touch his arm. “Are you okay? Jay?”
He just nods.
Blowing out a relieved breath, I sit all the way up and let the comforter fall to reveal my worn tee that has one too many holes and stains from over the years. “Did you file a police report? Did they catch the person responsible?”
“Yes. And no.”
“East.” I squeeze his arm. “I’m sorry.”
One of his shoulders lifts.
I clear my throat. “Are you drunk?”
“Stressed.”
I’d be a lot of things too if I’d gotten robbed, but I’m not sure I’d go out and drink. Then again, there’s Jay. The short time I’ve known him, I’ve figured out that Captain Morgan is one of his closest friends, next to Easton. I wouldn’t say he’s an alcoholic, but he’s probably going to become one soon if he keeps relying on a buzz when things get rough.
Not sure what to say, I offer the only half-ass advice that crosses my mind. “You should get some water and go to bed. Maybe take an Aspirin before you fall asleep.”
His jaw ticks, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, his eyes travel back to the picture frame of Danny smiling. To my surprise, he reaches over and picks it up. “Who’s watching her tomorrow?”
Her. Ainsley. “She goes back to school tomorrow. I’m picking her up after my last class and then we have plans to visit Grandma Mable.”
I’m about to explain who that is again because I doubt he remembers the short conversation we had about her not long after he moved in. We never really got to know each other from talking, just observing. Like how he has a set routine every day that he hates breaking or else he’s in a bad mood. Or how he likes cooking and cleaning whenever he has a lot on his mind. In fact, I’m surprised he’s not downstairs right now making another creation. A few months ago, I woke up to the smell of something sweet coming from the kitchen at three-thirty in the morning. He and Jay got into a fight about something at the shop and he came home and made peanut butter cookies.
“His grandmother,” he notes, gesturing toward the picture still grasped in his hands.
“Yeah.”
The only thing he knows from our old conversation about her is that his grandmother is the only family Danny had left. His father died from lung cancer caused by years of smoking, his mother from childbirth, and he was an only child. Grandma Mable was always doting on her son and granddaughter, spoiling them with baked goods, toys, and homemade crafts. Sitting on a shelf in Ainsley’s room is a raggedy teddy bear patched up hundreds of times over that Mable made for Danny when he was a kid.
“Why doesn’t she take care of Ainsley?”
It’s a question I saw coming from a mile away. East always gets more talkative when his defenses are down. Based on the harsh scent of bourbon radiating off him, I’d say his defenses are nonexistent right now.
Playing with the edge of the comforter to avoid his curious gaze, I inhale slowly. “Mable was put into a nursing home right before the accident. She has early onset dementia, so she’s not fit to care for her.”
Once again, he remains silent.
“Plus,” I add audibly quiet, “Danny made me her guardian in his will. I try making sure Ainsley still sees her great grandma as much as possible. It makes Mable happy.”
He hums while nodding slowly.
“East?” He looks at me. “You should go.”
His lips part, then close.
Nibbling my bottom lip, I ask, “Want me to go get you some water and medicine? I think you’ll need it to survive tomorrow. I’m sure you and Jay have a lot to go over at the shop.”
I can tell I’m right by the way his light eyes darken. So, I slide out of bed and pat his shoulder before walking to the bathroom and digging some medicine from the cabinet next to the sink. When I come back