Page 30 of Not Another Yesterday
“I miss you, too, sweet boy. Will you call me tomorrow?”
“Yeah, definitely. I love you, baby.”
“I love you, too,” she says, and we end our call.
I’m astounded when I slide back into the booth and notice that Miranda has already devoured her stack of pancakes, all her chicken strips, and is halfway through her own burger and fries while I haven’t even touched my food.
***
“Are you feeling better?” I ask, falling in step behind Miranda when we walk back to my car thirty minutes later.
“A little bit.” Exhaustion lines her face and grates her voice. “I’m so tired, though.”
The moment we’re in my car, I tell her to close her eyes. She does so without protest, then falls asleep within minutes. I only rouse her once I shut off the ignition after arriving back at the motel.
She sways slightly, so I wrap my arm around her shoulder and draw her against me, allowing her to use me as support while we walk.
“Where are you going?” she asks, two small lines visible between her eyebrows, when Miranda unlocks her door and I turn to walk back toward the small office.
“I still need to get a room.”
She takes a step toward me, a hand reached out. “No, Rony, don’t leave me. Jordan still has a key to my room. I don’t want to be alone. What if he comes back?”
I consider her for a moment. The fear in her voice is real. Raw.
“Please, Rony!”
“Okay.”
Miranda visibly relaxes, then leads the way to her room.God this place is such a dump.
I lock the deadbolt in place behind me while Miranda disappears into the tiny bathroom.
The soft mattress on the bed sinks and the cheap metal frame squeaks when I sit down. I briefly wonder when this mattress was originally bought, then decide against going down that rabbit hole. No good comes from thinking too hard in a room like this. The carpet looks like it hasn’t been replaced since before I was born, maybe even since before my dad was born. My lips curl.Nope, not gonna go there.
I take off my chucks, then send a quick text to Shane to let him know I made it to Tennessee okay. His response comes through almost immediately. It’s short, steady, like a tether I could grip if I needed to.
I feel Miranda climb into the bed behind me and instinctively turn toward her just as she gets under the burgundy duvet. She’s taken off her flannel and jeans, leaving only her thin white tank top and a red, lacy thong.
My head snaps away. Hard. I stare at the wall. The nightstand. Anything but her.
I know exactly how this would look if someone were to walk into this room right now. My last interaction with Miranda—back in March, in Montana—has left me admittedly guarded. I no longer trust that I’m able to properly read her and her intentions. I used to think I knew her, knew what her endgame was, then found myself completely caught off guard when she told me she loved me.
But she pulls the blanket up and over herself, then faces me, her blue eyes still puffy, red, and tired, her forehead creased.
“What am I going to do, Rony?” she whimpers. “I have nothing left and nowhere to go. I have no family. I have no one at all,” she says, a desperate sob breaking from her chest. She begins to cry again.
Without thinking, I move to her. I position myself next to her and pull her into my arms. She buries her face against my chest, her arms tucked between us, her pain palpable.
“You have me,” I say softly. “I’m here, Randi. We’ll figure something out, I promise,” I tell her over and over again as she cries in my arms. She doesn’t stop for a long time.
I just lie next to her—Miranda underneath the blanket, me on top of it—holding her close, whispering what I hope are the right things. Eventually, her tears taper. She exhales, deep and heavy, then shifts to rest her head on my chest. One last breath, and she’s asleep.
I listen to the slow rhythm of her breathing. Even, steady. Unlike mine. My mind won’t still.
I try to think of a solution. Some way out of this for her.
I guess I could bring her back to New York with me, but where the hell would she stay? She can’t stay with Shane and me—we don’t have the space and I’m not sure this idea would go over well with Cat and Tori. Miranda couldn’t stay with my dad either, with Penny about to give birth. I could give Miranda some money, I guess. I have a good chunk sitting in my savings, but man, everything was taken from her. She’ll need a car, a place to live, food, clothes, and all the shit that comes with living on your own. I don’t have that kind of money just sitting around. What I’d be able to give her would probably get her through a few weeks, but then what? Miranda will need something more permanent for a while, something that’ll allow her to get her feet back under her and start over.
