said, which was an excuse. Plenty of people who worked had pets. But we had a dog growing up who used to sleep in my bedroom, and when the old girl passed away when I was about ten, it’d killed me. It wasn’t fair that animals had such short lives. “Maybe I’ll consider it when Mom moves out.”
“A fish is low maintenance,” Brett suggested. “Or maybe a cat.”
Brett had two cats he totally doted on. Paybacks were a bitch, but I wasn’t in the mood to make fun of him right then. I’d definitely save up the ammunition for later.
“Nah, he needs a dog,” Tad replied. “Dogs are cool.”
“What the hell? Cats are cool too.”
“You guys are ridiculous,” Tucker said. “Back to work.”
Later, I looked up the address Mom texted me, and pulled up to the modest apartment building a few minutes after that. I figured it was only about a ten-minute drive from my house, depending on traffic. Not bad. If she ever needed me, I could be there in a pinch.
What the hell would she need you for? To kill a spider? All that shitty stuff with my dad was behind us now.
Mom met me at the door, and once we did a walk-through with the superintendent and I asked way too many questions about security and maintenance, he gave us a couple of minutes to discuss it.
Mom bit her lip nervously. “So…what do you think?”
“I think it’s nice.” And it was. Small and clean, newer fixtures, and Mom would decorate it the way she liked. She’d held her tongue too many times on choices I’d made in my own house—like the too plain dishware she was nudging me to replace with something more colorful—and now she’d finally have whatever her heart desired. I could already picture the bright, floral accessories. “More importantly, what do you think?”
“Think I’m gonna put a deposit down tonight,” she replied, a flicker of excitement in her eyes. She hadn’t had anything to call her own in so long, I absolutely wouldn’t dare spoil that for her. She fucking deserved it.
“Cool,” I said, even though my gut roiled with that same old anxiety. Would it ever go away? Holding in my reaction, I forced out a smile. After all, it was for the best, and it was definitely time.
7
Seth
I wanted to text Jake, but I was nervous that messaging him would be weird.
He was nice to me; well, because he was a nice guy. And because I was friends with his mom, which probably made me sound like a huge dork. But it wasn’t like we were friends. He’d worked on my car because he could tell I was hopeless with things like that and because it was what he did for a job. There was nothing more to it than that.
But there was something about him—besides the fact that he was smoking hot and I wanted to know what it felt like to have his arms around me, even if the thought of it scared me too. I could tell he was a nice guy. Like Jesse, who could be cocky and sarcastic, but I’d known from the start he was a good person. He’d talked to me to be kind and helped me with makeup for the same reason. Even though they absolutely couldn’t have been more different, I got the same kind of feeling being around Jake that I did with Jesse—that I could be friends with him. I hadn’t always trusted my gut when it came to men, and when I hadn’t, things turned into a mess, but I was still caught up in wondering if part of that was a defect in me.
I hadn’t seen Bonnie since the day I’d made an absolute fool of myself at Rose City, so instead of texting her hottie son, I messaged her. Did the second look at the apartment go well? Are you getting it?
Yes! Jake loved it too. I move in soon!
Wow. That was quick. I found myself smiling, happiness bubbling in my stomach. I didn’t have details, but I knew Bonnie had been through a lot. I knew how excited she was to get out on her own, and to not feel dependent on Jake, who I was certain didn’t mind. I figured it was important to him to make sure his mom was okay. We should go celebrate! I’ll buy you dinner!
My cell rang a second later, and it was Bonnie. It was so weird to talk to