Page 152 of Finding Hope

He’s the cat. I’m the mouse. “You wanna hang out?” Reflexively, his hand drops to his hip. “Did he hurt you, Brat? I’ll kill him for you. I’ll make him go somewhere that nobody will ever find him.”

“No.” I let out a deep breath. “He’s fine. I just thought… I’ve been gone a lot. I wanted to spend time with yo–” I stop and grit my teeth at my vibrating bag. “We haven’t hung out in a while,” I push on. “I thought you’d like to see me. My mistake.”

His eyes narrow, and before I get a chance to intercept, he dives toward my bag and tosses my shit all over the table and floor in his search.

Tampons roll toward the fridge. My makeup bag is tossed to the counter. A hotel mint I don’t ever recall collecting lands on the tile.

Finding my phone, he glowers at the still flashing screen, and then meeting my eyes, he swipes and answers. “What?”

…

“This is Alex.”

…

“What do you want, Reilly?”

…

“Yeah she’s here. What did you do?”

…

His eyes narrow. “So why won’t she take your call?”

…

Alex’s eyes meet mine. “No, you’re not invited. We’re hanging out today. Family only.”

…

“Yeah, okay. Bye, asshole.”

“Alex.” I step forward and snatch my phone away. “You didn’t have to call him an asshole.”

“Why not? He called me an asshole.”

“When?”

“Just then!”

Shaking my head, I look to the floor and hide my grin. “Why’d he call you an asshole?”

“Because I wouldn’t put you on the phone.”

“That’s mean, X.”

“Mean?You were blatantly ignoring his calls! Did you want me to pass the phone over?”

“No.”

“So, explain how I’m the bad guy here?”

Checkmate. “I dunno, X. I just wanna stay mad at you. It makes me feel better.”

Stepping forward and taking my hot coffee, he sets it on the counter and takes me in his arms. A reminder of this morning’s heartbreak washes through my chest until I choke on a sob.

“Talk to me, honey. I can’t shoot him till you tell me why. I need probable cause.”

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