Page 13 of Wilder Love
“You need to go,” Remy said, her gaze meeting mine over her mother’s shoulder.
“I’m not leaving you to deal with this alone.”
“She’s my mother.” Her words were quiet but powerful. Despite everything, Remy loved this woman. She felt the need to protect her, rather than the other way around. Remy’s eyes pleaded for me to go. To accept that I wasn’t wanted or needed here.
“You’ll be okay?” Stupid question. This was so far from okay I didn’t have a word for it.
“We’ll be fine.”
I ran a hand through my hair, debating. Not wanting to leave her to deal with this on her own but knowing that she didn’t want me to witness her mother’s behavior.
“Go,” Remy said, her voice strong and clear.
Reluctantly, I walked out of her apartment and closed the door behind me, leaving her to deal with her mother on her own. What the fuck had just happened? I waited on the other side of the apartment door, listening, but it was quiet inside. Remy hadn’t looked scared. Which made me think it wasn’t the first time she’s had to deal with something like this.
If she needed my help, she had my number. She could text or call if things got out of hand with her mother. Although I doubted she would ask for my help.
I lurked outside her door for another five minutes before I turned to go and ran into a guy who vaguely resembled Remy. “Why are you standing outside our door?” he asked, immediately on the defensive.
“Just trying to help.”
His eyes narrowed with distrust. “Trying to help,” he repeated, looking from me to the closed door then back at me. “We don’t need your help.”
With that, he shoved past me, went into the apartment and slammed the door shut.
* * *
It had beenan hour since I’d seen Remy and I was still thinking about her. Worrying about her. Hoping she was okay. I was out on the back deck, lying in my hammock, looking at the stars and thinking abouther.
Sliding my cell out of my pocket, I typed out a text and deleted it. Typed and deleted. Until finally, I hit send.
Shane: If you want to learn how to surf, I’ll teach you. I’ve got a board you can use.
A few minutes later, I followed it up with another text.
Shane: Meet me outside tomorrow morning at 7.
Firefly: Why are you offering to do this?
Shane: Do you want to learn how to surf?
Firefly: I can figure it out on my own.
Shane: Meet me at 7.
* * *
At seven-thirty in the morning,there was still no sign of Remy. I texted her and got no response. So, I went surfing without her. And I should have left it at that. But later that afternoon, under the guise of visiting my old man, I drove to the surf shop with two boards on my roof rack. Just in case.
My dad was standing outside the shop, talking to the guy I’d seen outside Remy’s apartment last night. Her brother if I had to guess. The first thought that popped into my head was that something had happened to Remy. The guy strode away, and I watched him leaving before approaching my dad.
“Is Remy okay?”
His brows raised. “Is that why you stopped by? To check on Remy?”
I rubbed the back of my neck. “Nah. I came to see you.”
“Uh huh. So, you don’t care where she is or what she’s doing.”
