Page 6 of Buried Treasure
"Well, that was the second bad thing that happened to me today if that gives you any idea of what it's been like."
Andy looked at her, his curiosity getting the best of him. She definitely knew Ryan and seemed to care about him. What could be worse for her today than finding out he was in the hospital?
"Exactly how bad has your day been?"
She took a deep breath and walked past him, dropping the toiletries in the duffel bag and zipping it up.
"I can't talk about it."
"Sorry if I overstepped my bounds," he said. "I was just trying be nice."
"It's not your fault," she replied, turning to give him a sarcastic smile. "My lawyer said I'm not allowed to talk to anyone without her present."
Andy could feel his eyebrows raise in surprise. "Must have been one hell of a day."
"Yeah, you could say that."
Her fingers paused for a minute as they hovered over the bag in front of her. It was as if she had zoned out, had gone to another place that was bitter and raw. Then she shook her head and pulled herself back into the present. She looked up with those amazing green eyes and gave him an uncomfortable smile that tried to wordlessly tell him she was moving on. She pulled the bag off the counter and started heading for the door.
"Hey, can you grab Gretzky for me?"
"What?"
Sydney gestured to a fish bowl on the kitchen counter. "Gretzky. He's Ryan's fish. I have no idea what made him buy a fish instead of a dog or something, but I take care of Gretzky whenever Ryan is gone. It's just easier to keep the fish bowl at my place."
Andy turned towards the fish bowl on the counter and found it empty.
"Uh, there's no fish in here," he told her.
She dropped the bag and walked around the kitchen island to stand next to Andy, staring in shock at the fish bowl.
"Gretzky's gone?"
"I guess," Andy said with a shrug.
He could see the tears beginning to pool in her eyes. He hated being around anyone who was crying, especially women. Was he supposed to leave them alone or put his arm around them or… why the hell was this woman crying over a dead goldfish?
He watched as Sydney covered her face with her hands, the quiet of the apartment filling his ears before he began to hear her muffled sobs. His hands felt heavy, but he finally got enough strength in one to pat Sydney's shoulder.
"I'm sure Gretzky was a good fish, and Ryan probably gave him a nice send off," he said, patting her shoulder while internally cringed at how ridiculous he sounded.
Sydney pulled her hands away and stared at the empty fish bowl, using the back of her left hand to wipe away tears that had broken free and were coming down her face.
"He probably just flushed him down the toilet," she said seriously.
She turned and gave Andy a sad smile, and he was irrationally mad at Ryan for being in the hospital instead of here tonight to comfort Sydney. She obviously needed her friend.
She gestured to the duffel bag on the floor. "You can take care of that then?"
Andy nodded. "I would love to."
He cursed himself again. His response to her question about picking up a bag is he would love to?Idiot.
She just stared at him, and it seemed like she thankfully hadn't processed his weird response.
"Can you lock the door when you leave?" she asked, her voice quivering between steady and broken.
"Yeah, of course. No problem. Are you sure you're going to be alright?"
She straightened her posture and put on a stoic face. "I'm fine."
Sydney grabbed her keys off the counter and pushed her way past Andy towards the door. She paused for just a moment before she turned to look over her shoulder at him.
"Make sure you get Ryan home soon."
"I will," Andy promised.
Sydney gave him a slight nod and walked through the door, letting it slam shut behind her. She was gone.
