Page 216 of Time Stops With You

“Ronan!” Jenna cries louder. “I’m sorry!”

A couple that lives on the second floor passes by, sending Jenna strange looks.

Jenna plops into a heap, her head tipped back as she wails to the sky. “Roooonaaaan!”

A window on the second floor flies up and a disgruntled neighbor yells, “Shut up!”

A baby wails from another apartment.

“Jenna, enough crying,” I hiss, wishing I could tape her mouth closed.

“I shouldn’t have done it.” Jenna rocks back and forth. “I’m sorry.”

I inhale deeply. “Jenna, I have the app open. Tell me your home address so I can order the ride.”

She ignores me and keeps crying.

“Jenna!”

Suddenly, Jenna flops against the front door so hard it shudders. She curls her knees up to her chest and pats the door lovingly.

“Don’t worry, Ronan. I’ll be there for you. I’ll take care of you.”

Watching her comfort an imaginary Cullen gets on my nerves. “Call him ‘Cullen’,” I mumble. “Not even I call him by his first name.”

Jenna snuggles up to the door, totally oblivious to my warning.

At a loss, I dial Sara’s number. Since Jenna was an employee of Cullen Tech, I’m sure they have her address somewhere in the database.

The line connects.

“Hey, Sara. By chance, do you know where Jenna lives?”

“Jenna? Why?”

“Because she’s currently curled up in a fetal position in front of Cullen Tech.”

There’s a beat of silence and then Sara sighs, “I’ll be right there.”

“It’s okay,” I offer. “Just tell me where she lives and I’ll…” I feel a prick of responsibility at the thought of putting a very drunk Jenna in a stranger’s car. “I’ll take her home.”

Sara insists on coming anyway, so I decide to wait with Jenna until Cullen’s assistant arrives.

In record time, Sara hops out of a small, blue car and hurries over to me. I wave in welcome and Sara gives me a tight nod. However, I notice her expression darken when she looks at Jenna.

“Do you need help getting her to the car?” I ask.

At first, Sara seems like she’ll reject me, but she ends up taking my offer. I stow away the shopping bags in my car so I don’t have to worry about them. After, I work with Sara to get the slumbering Jenna into a sitting position.

Unfortunately, getting her to stand is another matter altogether.

“Why is she so heavy?” I rasp, breaking a sweat as the slim woman flops back to the ground.

Sara rolls her eyes and says irritably, “Maybe we should leave her out here. It would serve her right.”

The words seem out of place coming from Cullen’s docile, good-natured assistant.

“My stomach hurts.” Jenna blinks up sluggishly. When she sees Sara, she scrambles to sit upright and grabs the other woman’s hand. “Sara, where’s Ronan? Please tell him I need to see him. I need to apologize again. I need to make things right.”

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