he lifted them at me when I tossed my phone down on the rickety coffee table.
“Trouble at work?”
I nodded, staring at my friend in complete disbelief. I really hadn’t thought it would be an issue. I had the time saved up and I’d sent them an email. Fine, I hadn’t waited for a reply and I hadn’t really asked so much as tell, but it was only a few days longer than I would’ve been home anyway, so it wasn’t like I’d missed any scheduled flights or they had to replace me at short notice.
“I’m going to have to call the HR department myself. This is fucked up. They’re trying to fire me for going to Fiji.”
Chapter 27
LINDSAY
Ember had dropped me off after I got in late in the night. As soon as she’d greeted me at the airport, she’d known I was in trouble.
It had taken some arguing, but at least I’d eventually convinced her that I just needed to get some sleep. The compromise we’d reached was that today would be a girls’ day and that I wasn’t allowed to try to get out of it at all.
I’d given in because I really had been weighed down with bone-deep exhaustion and was desperate to tumble into my own bed. It’d seemed like the fastest and easiest way to get her to stop looking at me like she was afraid she needed to take me for mental observation instead of my house.
Now that it was morning and I’d had a shower, I regretted agreeing to her terms. Not that I hadn’t missed her or didn’t want to spend time with her. I wanted both of those things desperately. I just didn’t want to hear her take on how Jaxon leaving the way he had was for the best.
I felt like I’d gone several rounds with an Amazonian warrior princess as it was. I didn’t have it in me to have to be realistic about it right now.
Jaxon didn’t have the power to break me, but he’d definitely left me feeling tender. Having to endure more emotional blows when I was in rough shape already wasn’t something I was looking forward to.
I’d texted her earlier to be gentle with me, which was a request I hadn’t made of anyone before and she knew it. My best friend wasn’t one to pull her punches, though. My fragile state and her idea of gentle might not be well matched.
Which was why I held an extra-strength cup of coffee in my hands, facing the window in my living room and bracing myself for making it through another world of pain today when she unlocked my front door.
“I brought vanilla, peanut brittle, strawberry swirl, and blueberry,” she said, calling out all my favorite ice-cream flavors, and slammed the door behind her. “Where are you? What was with that text this morning? It didn’t sound like you at all.”
She came to an abrupt halt when she spotted me, dropping her shopping bags at her sides, and gave me a long onceover before she came rushing at me. She just about tackled me into her hug, stroking my hair and holding me tight when my tears rose again purely from being in her arms.
Tepid brown liquid sloshed over the side of the mug between us, but neither of us seemed to care.
What is it about seeing moms or best friends that just makes it feel okay to cry?
Ember led me over to the couch, took the coffee from me, and set it down before patting her shoulder. “Okay, girl. Lay it on me. What in the hell happened to you? You look like shit.”
“Thanks.” I managed a small smile. “You mean you don’t like my new look?”
“I don’t know.” The corners of her lips pressed in as she swept her gaze across my face before I laid my head down on her offered shoulder. “Pale skin, glazed-over, puffy eyes, and a pinched expression like you’re a walking ball of anguish might not be the best look for anyone. It’s definitely not a good look on you.”
“I didn’t think so either.” I exhaled heavily, screwing my eyes shut to keep the tears at bay. “What have I done to my life, Em? I feel like I’ve fucked it all up and I have no idea how to get back to it.”
She twined her fingers into my hair, and the shaking of her head moved my hair. “You haven’t fucked anything up. Will left you, which obviously changes