Page 51 of When We Breathe
ADAM
“How did she look?”
Gabe and I have the poor Wild kid, I think his name is Jake, cornered at the garage, asking a million questions.
He’s been our delivery guy during this whole thing. I’m paying the kid a mint.
“Do you want the honest answer, or do you want me to sugarcoat it?”
“You can be honest,” Gabe tells him.
“She looked pretty rough.” Jake winces, and I turn to pace back and forth. “I think I might have woken her up.”
“But you delivered that stuff at noon,” I reply.
“Yeah, but she was sleepy, you know? She knows me, so she didn’t have a problem with me taking the stuff inside for her.”
I wish I had eyes in her apartment. I want to know what she’s doing. I want toseethat she’s okay.
But she’d probably have an issue with me putting cameras in the place.
I should have put them in the fans.
“Let me know if you want me to deliver anything else,” Jake says with a grin. “I could use another hundred.”
“Let’s have him take her some pizza this afternoon,” I suggest to Gabe.
“There’s a delivery person at Old Town Pizza who doesn’t cost a hundred bucks,” Gabe reminds me.
“Hey, they won’t report back with how she looks and all that jazz,” Jake reminds us. “I can ask questions if you want. Make conversation. Alex is pretty. I could probably?—”
“Watch yourself.” My voice is hard, but Jake just laughs.
“Dude, I have a girlfriend. Happily taken. But I could probably charm some answers out of her.”
“Fine.” I pull my wallet out and pass him another hundred. “She likes pepperoni and sausage. Extra cheese.”
“Got it,” he says and walks away, whistling.
“That kid’s going to be a salesman.”
Gabe shakes his head and shoves his hands in his pockets.
“She hasn’t responded to either of our texts in days.”
“I’m aware.”
“I’m giving it twenty-four hours,” he says calmly, holding my gaze steady in his. “And then I’m going to her, breaking down the fucking door, and telling her Ilove her and hauling her home, even if I have to carry her kicking and screaming. This is bullshit, Adam.”
“I’m as impatient as you are, but she asked us for space.”
“And we fucking gave it to her. The clock is ticking.” He shakes his head and blows out a gusty breath. “I can’t breathe without her. The house is hollow. The bed feels cold. It’s not because I don’t love you, because I do, but?—”
“I know.” I kiss his lips softly. “I know, baby. We’ll give her the twenty-four hours, and then we’ll go get her.”
He nods once, and his eyebrows pull together as his jaw tenses. Neither of us is sleeping at all. We’re zombies, going through the motions of work and living our lives, but it’s meaningless without Alex.
“What if she doesn’t come home?”
