Page 14 of GAF Factor

“Hey, just remember what I did for you.”

“Yeah, and when I go to the doctor, I’ll make sure to tell them, too.”

The door opened and the girls walked in, chuckling as their heads popped up. I spun around and smiled at Isla, trying not to look like the pathetic, desperate chum I really was.

“Hey,” I breathed out. I glanced at my watch, frowning slightly. “Back so soon?”

“Yeah, I was getting tired.”

No shit. Of course she was tired. The doctor told her to take it easy. “Why don’t you sit down and I’ll make you some tea.”

“What happened to you?” Riley asked, her eyebrow quirked as she stared at Bowie.

“He tripped and fell,” I explained. “Lost his balance. It was pretty bad.”

Bowie shifted uncomfortably. “Yeah, it fucking hurt.”

Riley nodded, but she didn’t look like she believed him for even a second. Then she swung her gaze on me. “You pushed him over so he could get out of dishes, didn’t you?”

My jaw dropped and I flamed bright red. How the hell did she know?

“If you don’t want me to know what you’re doing, maybe you shouldn’t push him over in front of that giant window whereeveryone outside can see inside.” Shaking her head, she walked away.

I shrugged. “Sorry, man.”

“Great,” he huffed. “So, now I have an injured leg and a pissed girlfriend.”

“You want the remote?”

“Yeah.”

I tossed it at him and it hit him right on the leg. “What the fuck? Are you trying to kill me today?”

Chuckling, I turned back to Isla, but she was disappearing upstairs.

“Whatever you do,” Bowie whispered, “do not bring up IKE.”

I nodded and headed for the stairs.

“Fuck, he’s gonna bring up IKE.”

Bowie’s wordsrang through my head as I climbed the stairs and headed for the bedroom. I was sweating and it wasn’t because it was hot in here. The look on her face this morning said we needed to talk, and while I would normally avoid that conversation like my life depended on it, there was no getting out of this. I had to try and salvage what was left before it was too late, and the only way to do that was to talk to her.

“Did you have a good time out?” I asked, making sure I made plenty of noise as I approached her.

She glanced over her shoulder, shrugging slightly. “I guess.”

“What did you do?”

“Uh…went to the flea market and then just hung out.”

“Like at the coffee house?”

“No.”

When she didn’t say anything further, my heart rate kicked up a notch. “Where’d you go?”

“Just around. No place special.”

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