Page 118 of Play Me
She sighs. “Okay. Not sure I believe you, but thanks for lying to me anyway.”
“Anytime, anytime.” I pull off my sunglasses and toss them onto the passenger’s seat. “I’m pulling up to Gray’s, so I’m going to go. If you need me to talk you off a ledge later, call me. I’ll keep my phone close.”
“You’re the greatest, Astrid. Love you.”
“Bye, Auddie.”
“Bye.”
I end the call, park at the curb, and gather my things. I’m on the sidewalk walking toward Gray’s in two seconds flat.
It feels like I’m floating to his apartment, and the shit that usually weighs me down and has me trudging through the day is gone. Well, it’s probably still there but I hardly notice it. It’s hard to think about your problems and what could go wrong and how many goofy things you said that day when someone’s telling you how amazing you are. Talk aboutlie to me anyway.
The old man on the porch who I see every time I’m here, practically every day, takes his cigar out of his mouth and waves with two fingers. I smile, waving back.
I round the side of the building and start up his porch but quickly stop. This morning’s groceries are stacked all over the porch.What the hell?I step over the bag of fruit and ring Gray’s doorbell. While I wait for him to answer, I sort through the bags and find that the milk’s warm.
My stomach tightens as I ring the bell again. I listen closely, but don’t hear any footsteps. He never makes me wait this long.
I slide my phone from my pocket and press his name. He answers on the fourth ring.
“Hey,” he says, his voice eerily low.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
He hesitates. “Yeah. Why?”
“Well, I’m standing on your porch to hang out with you today—not wearing panties, as you prefer—and your groceries are piled out here.” I laugh. “I was afraid you were in there dead.”
This pause is two moments long enough to trigger a sense of dread in my gut.
I force a swallow, shifting my weight from one foot to the other. “Gray?”
“So I guess you didn’t get my text this morning, huh?”
I pull the phone away from my face and open my texts. There’s nothing since last night.What is he talking about?“The last text you sent me was at nine o’clock when you asked me if I made it home, and I said yes.”
He groans. “Fucking Wi-Fi.” His sigh is filled with frustration, and the sound of it tells me I’m going to be feeling similarly soon. “I didn’t want to panic you, but I had to leave town late last night. There’s an emergency.”
“Oh, my God. I’m sorry.” My eyes dart around the porch. “Is everything okay? What can I do to help?”
“It’ll be fine. I promise. I just need to be … here to make a couple of decisions, and then I’ll be home late tonight.”
My brain sorts through what could possibly be wrong.Is it Hartley? Brooks? Jasper? Did something happen to Cathy?I press a hand to my heart as if the pressure can keep it from beating out of my chest.
“Okay,” I say, my thoughts scrambled. “Um, is everyone okay? Hartley? Cathy?”
“Yeah, Astrid. Everyone’s okay.” He sighs again, and I can hear exhaustion in his tone. “My flight gets in late. I’ll come by and see you when I get home, all right?”
Flight?I stand a bit taller, adding that information to the mix. It’s not like I know his whole family, but I thought they were all in Sugar Creek.So, where the hell is he flying?
“I’ll explain everything tonight, sweetheart,” he says. “But I have to go now.”
“What about the groceries?”
“The code to the lock is four-seven-eight-six-two. I hate to ask you to take them in, but I didn’t realize you ordered me stuff.”
I frown. “Yeah, I just thought since we were going to hang out all day that I could restock you while I was there. But don’t worry. I’ll sort them. Four-seven-eight-six-two?”
