Page 21 of The Way We Fell

“Monday,” she answers with a tight smile. It’s Saturday now. “I don’t have to go—”

“Katy, don’t even think about it. I’m fine, and you’re going to Mexico. You’ll have a great time.”

“Yeah.” She smiles tightly, giving my arm one last squeeze before pushing the door open again. I step back onto the shop floor and she follows, a hand on my shoulder before she leaves me to my shopping. When I leave the store, a canvas shopping bag in each hand, I find her leaning against the wall, legs crossed at the ankles, thumbing through a brightly-coloured Disney Princess magazine.

“A little young for you, isn’t it, Princess?” One corner of my mouth lifts in a half-smirk. It feels good to smile, to laugh, to think of anything other than getting hurt. I’ve been signed off work since the incident and all I’ve been able to think about is my jeep being hit with an IED, having my leg shattered and burned and infected and rebuilt, learning to walk again, being attacked by a gang of strangers in the middle of a busy town centre.

But seeing Katy again is a breath of fresh air—her dark eyes, her sandy hair, her sunshine smile. Without even trying, and without me realising, she’s pulled me from my funk. She’s dug herself a little hole and crawled under my skin.

“Ha ha,” she grumbles lightly. “It’s for Maisy. You know, Amie’s kid? But I got bored waiting for you. Figured I’d kill some time.”

“You didn’t have to wait for me.” She pushes off the wall and falls into step beside me.

“I know,” she says with a light smile, nudging my arm with her shoulder.God, her smile could end a war. “But I wanted to. I didn’t want you to have to get yourself home alone.”

I slow my pace mid-stride and turn to look at her.Fuck, she’s pretty. And it’s not just that she’s pretty—she has the sweetest, purest heart, too. Every day I see her, I find myself sharing more and more. I find myself smiling more and hiding less. And I find myself missing her when I go home alone.

“Besides,” she continues with a cheeky grin. “My house is on the way to yours, so really,you’retakingmehome.”

Christ, this woman. If I were younger, if she weren’t my little sister’s best friend, if I weren’t such a fucked up mess of a man… I think I could fall for her.

It’s been over twelve hours since I bumped into Katy at the supermarket, but it feels like only a few minutes. I’m not sure if I’ve slept at all since then—or maybe I’ve done nothingbutsleep since then. Time no longer has meaning.

I peer through the window like some kind of awkward peeping tom. It’s another chilly, overcast late-winter day, but the room inside looks cosy. Warm yellow string lights bathe the space in a golden glow. Chunky knit blankets cover plush sofa cushions, and steam billows from a large mug on a wide serving tray on the footstool. An arm shoots out to grasp the handle and lift the mug out of view. This looks like the right house. Like the one I saw from the bus window as Katy darted into it last night. I step to the side and rap my knuckles against the red front door.

A moment later, the lock clicks softly and the door is pulled ajar, taking my breath with it. She’s a fucking vision. Grey leggings encase her legs, and a soft pink sweater hangs from her shoulders, fashionably oversized and sleeves pushed up to her elbows. Matching pink socks hug her feet, pushed down around her ankles like 80s legwarmers. Her blonde hair is pulled into a messy ponytail with soft tendrils framing her makeup-free face. She looks young and pretty, and like she tripped right out of a casting call forFlashdance.

Fuck. Why am I even here?

And how did I notice all of that about her in half a second?

“Jay?” Katy pulls the door open further. “Did you hear me?”

“Sorry?”

“I asked what you’re doing here. Not that I’m not positively, absolutely thrilled and overjoyed to see you…” Katy bites her lip with a raised eyebrow and a hint of a smile. What I wouldn’t give to be that lip right now, pulled between her teeth.

“Oh. Oh, I…” I shake my head slightly. WhyamI here? I didn’t even think about it. I just walked. Never stopped to consider whether she might be home, or whether or not she might have plans. Never stopped to think about much at all. “I guess… I just didn’t want to be alone. Is this okay?”

She steps aside to let me in. Her house smells like cinnamon and oranges—likeKaty—and music plays softly from a speaker somewhere.

“Of course it’s okay. Come on in. Do you want a coffee? Tea? Tequila?”

Her voice takes on a lilting, teasing tone as she spins to walk down the narrow hallway and I bark out a laugh. “Coffee would be great.”

She moves through to the kitchen, hips swaying as she walks, and she flicks a switch on some fancy-looking gadget before shoving a mug beneath it. Within seconds, the small space is filled with the rich aroma of fresh coffee.

“Milk? Sugar?”

“No, thanks. Just as it comes.”It suits me better that way, I think darkly. I bite back the words. No need to add melodramatic teenage woe to my already-oversized baggage.

She hands me the cup and switches everything off, before leading me to the living room—the room I spied through the window. It’s even cosier than it looks from the outside: all pastel pinks and creamy whites with light tan accents and a warm glow. The music is coming from the corner, and it sounds like—

“That Disney Princess gear, that wasn’t just for Maisy, was it?”

Katy whirls to face me, ponytail flying behind her head.

“It was,” she insists. “I just like the music.”

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