Page 96 of Resting Beach Face
“Okay. I’ll get towels up to the room. I can take out their trash and tidy a little while they’re out, too.”
“Thanks, Cash. I know that’s not in your job description.”
“No worries. My mom taught me a thing or two about maid service.”
Skylar chuckled. “I bet she did. Thanks.”
I grabbed a keycard and went up to Room 203. I set a stack of fresh towels on the back of the toilet, picked up the discarded towels on the floor, emptied their trash, and made the bed.
I didn’t have a vacuum, so I couldn’t do a full cleaning service, but the room looked tidier, at least. By the time I got back downstairs, it was time for my break, and the troops had assembled.
Poppy and Fisher stood in the lobby, chatting while they waited.
“Don’t you two have work to do?” I challenged as I came out of the elevators.
Poppy shrugged. “I’m an artist. I make my own hours.”
“My Dad was bored, anyway,” Fisher said. “He’ll enjoy running the store for an afternoon without me bossing him around.”
I laughed. “So you’re the boss now, huh?”
“Pretty much,” he said, though there was no arrogance to it. “Dad has finally embraced the idea of transitioning toward retirement. It’s a good thing for us all.”
“That’s great, man.”
“But we’re not here to talk about us,” Poppy said.
I grimaced. “Might be more fun.”
“Nope.” She hooked an arm through mine and urged me toward the restaurant and bar. “No dodging. You’ve been avoiding this topic with us for years.”
“Time to let us help,” Fisher added.
“There’s nothing you can do.”
“We can listen,” she said.
I sagged a little, chest aching. I’d held in so much about my dad’s alcoholism, how intolerable it was at home, the lengths I’d gone to avoid it until I realized I was only hurting myself and Katelyn.
But as I sat down with all my friends, every set of eyes filled with worry for me, I knew the time for keeping secrets was over.
“Things are really fucked up,” I admitted. “I told Kat we were going to take off for a few days until things cool down.”
“That seems smart,” Skylar said.
Brooks had poured drinks for us all, and I picked up my beer and took a fortifying gulp. “Yeah, the thing is…I don’t know if I can make myself go back there. But I also can’t just send Kat back. And my mom, she needs us. She can’t carry that burden alone.”
I gave them the rundown on my father’s condition, the attempts we’d made to get him help before, the resistance he showed to change.
“For a long time, I avoided being home whenever Kat didn’t need me there. That’s why…”
Poppy was the first to catch on. “That’s why you hooked up with so many people? To stay out for the night?”
I nodded. “It wasn’t healthy. Declan made me see that.”
“What’s going on with Declan, anyway?” Sawyer asked. “You’re staying with him?”
“Yeah. We’re getting close.”
