Page 153 of Sincerely, Your Enemy

I shouldn’t be surprised that his family members have nicknames for him, but I’ve gotten so used to everyone calling him TJ that I sometimes forget his real name is Mathias.

TJ walks into his aunt’s embrace for a hug. “I should’ve called, sorry. Had to take a detour to pick her up.”

I wonder if she knows who I am.

Vera’s eyes light up when they find me, her lips pulling into a warm smile. “It’s so nice to finally meet you, Lacey.”

I guess I have my answer.

I return her smile. “It’s so nice to meet you, too. Vera, right?”

My first reflex is to offer her my hand to shake, and in response, she laughs, opening her arms for a hug. “Please. None of that.”

I don’t hesitate to embrace her, her laughter filling the room with warmth. This woman is like pure sunshine in human form.

She pulls away, resting her palms on each of my shoulders to get a good look at me. “TJ’s told me so much about you. You’ve truly saved his grades this semester.”

Ah. He told her I’m his tutor. It’s probably better this way. I’d rather she think of me as the girl who helps him study than know I got down and dirty with her godson.

“I’m so glad you two are back together. He wouldn’t tell me what happened when you broke up, but he was in such a bad place he had me worried for a bit.”

Oh.

So, she does know about us.

I’m surprised he even told her. We only dated for three days before I found out he had been playing me all along.

I consider telling her that we’re not back together but decide against it. TJ can tell her if he wants to. Now’s not the time to get into our relationship drama.

I can feel TJ glancing at me from the corner of his eye, as though he’s waiting for me to correct her at any moment.

“Don and I need to have you over for dinner sometime. This one is so busy with basketball I barely see him anymore.”

Don?

Confusion must be visible on my face because he says, “Don is her husband.”

I decide to go along with it. “We would love that.”

“Amazing. We should probably go sign in. Visiting hours are almost over,” Vera says.

On that note, Vera walks to the reception desk and asks the lady for three visitor sign-ins.

We’re asked to provide our names, contact information, and the name of the resident we’re visiting.

“Sophie Jacobs,” TJ says.

I have so many questions. Like what happened for her to end up in a nursing home? Was it an accident? Whatever it was, it was obviously bad enough for her to require constant care, otherwise she wouldn’t be here. Maybe it had to do with her back? I remember TJ told me she used to come home with terrible back pain when he was younger.

Still, the whole thing seems a bit odd. I would expect the average nursing home resident to be around seventy years old.

The lady behind the desk gives us the go-ahead a moment later, and TJ casts a glance in my direction, hesitation written all over his face. He’s checking to see if I’m freaked out about him bringing me here. I give him a forced smile to try and ease his worries, but he doesn’t seem to buy it, the slight crease in his forehead deepening.

Vera goes in front, rounding the reception area and paving the way down a long, narrow corridor.

I can tell from the way she and TJ effortlessly navigate the space that they know this place like the back of their hands. A couple of right and left turns later, we come to a slow stop before a row of elevators.

The thumping in my chest echoes all the way to my ears as the elevator doors open and we step inside. TJ selects the fourth floor, still glancing at me from time to time.

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