Page 39 of No Place Like Home

“Oh, my.” Emma’s startled gasp vibrated through the empty house. “What happened here?”

“The TV broke,” I said without looking at her.

I respected her, but I wasn’t in the mood for her positive outlook on life at the moment. People who never had their world ripped apart were always the first to give their unsolicited advice.

“Come on, Simba. Let's go for a walk,” she said to my dog.

Without a word, she set food in front of me, then she hugged me and kissed my cheek.

“Q, this isn’t healthy, honey. I know it hurts, but you need to keep going. It’s the only thing you can do.”

That irked the shit out of me.

“Don’t, Ems. Don’t even start,” I said through gritted teeth.

I watched her walk out with my dog and made sure to be gone when she came back.

Something needed to change, and fast, because I was going out of my damn mind.

CHAPTERTWELVE

April

In the weeksfollowing Quincy’s injury, it was all people could talk about. It was like the world had stopped around us, and it was all about him.

The town loved him. They saw his rise, and now his fall, which made his pain now our pain. The possibility of Q’s dream ending meant theirs would too. Because of Freya and Emma, I knew he was moving back home this week. Mrs. Hardwell contacted Emma to make sure she kept an eye on him. From what I gathered, he was not coping well.

I wondered if his girlfriend would like Sunny Pines. I mean, it wasn’t like they had to come into town, since he was probably well-stocked and didn’t need anything. And even if he did, someone could deliver him what he needed.

My ringing phone pulled me out of my thoughts.

“Whaaaat?” I answered my phone with an exasperated sigh.

“Damn, woman. Can you at least sound happy to see me?”

“We’re on the phone, Blake. I can’t see you. So what’s up?”

While I waited for his answer, I got in my car. It might have been April, but this was Wisconsin, and it was still cold as shit. I wanted to go home because work had me drained today.

“Can you run by the store? Mom made ribs and left them over there.”

“And why can’t you go?”

He was quiet for a second, and then I heard a giggle. Barf—he had a girl over.

“Say no more. I will get the food and then some.”

Since I couldn’t go home, I went to the grocery store before going to Pete and Son’s, the store Blake’s parents owned. I needed a few things, and taking a long time was vital. It was always awkward being there when Cubbie had female company.

Parking my car, I got out and made my way to the cereal aisle. I lived off cereal and granola in the mornings.

Now the real question was, did I want Choco Crispies, or did I want Cocoa Pebbles? Growing up, we sometimes didn’t get to pick what cereal we ate; we usually had the nonsugary stuff that the state gave out to families in need.

“Excuse me,” I told the lady I had bumped into.

She turned toward me with a guarded look in her eyes.

“Mrs. Hardwell. How are you?” I mumbled.

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