Page 23 of The Pushy Pixies Are Going Down
I sent him a sad smile, then reached over to pat his arm, surprising us both. Inevertouched other people. At least… not before Winter came into my life.
Clearing my throat, I said, “I mean it, Gerard. You’ve got this.”
He took a deep breath. “Thank you.”
After staring at him for a few long seconds, fond memories coming to the surface, a pang of guilt shot through me. “Listen…” I glanced at Cunningham and lowered my voice. “The next time you want to, you know, hang out, just… just come over. You don’t need to pull me into all of this to see me, okay?”
He blinked in surprise. “Really?”
I nodded. “Really.”
Sola added a friendly trill, clearly agreeing with me.
His smile was small, but it lit up his eyes with pleasure. “I’m gonna take you up on that offer.”
“Good.” I dropped my hand, sent him a small smile and a nod, then glared at the other man in the room, saying, “Nice meeting you, Cunningham.” It was clear I meantassholewhen I said his name.
Higgins’s eyes widened in surprise, and Cunningham’s narrowed as he said, “Right back atcha, empath.” He saidempathlike it was a dirty word again.
Higgins turned sharply to his partner. “Hey! We don’t discriminate againstanyone, let alone an ex-detective.”
As he continued his lecture, I slipped out of the room and rushed toward the elevator, hoping no one else noticed me. Sola rubbed against my cheek, comfortingly, and I somehow made it to the elevator without anyone stopping me.
As soon as the doors closed, I leaned back against the wall and took a deep breath. God, I hated going there. I really, really hated it.
I hated the memories it brought back.
I hated the looks I got.
I hated that a part of me missed it.
Sola let out another trill, then started chirping, like she was singing a song and trying to cheer me up. It was sweet, and I gave her scratches for it.
But I needed something else.
Without missing a beat, I pulled out my phone and hitcallbefore I could stop myself. Winter answered on the second ring.
“Hey, handsome.”Just hearing his voice helped ease some of the tension.“You still at the station?”
“Unfortunately. But I’m on the elevator and on my way out.”
“What’s wrong?”
Something inside of me softened at that. After only really getting to know each other so recently, I was surprised he could tell something was wrong when I was trying my best to hide it. “Just… brings back a lot of memories, and not all of them are good. I… I don’t want to be here anymore, and I… well, I want to see you.”
“I’m here if you want to talk, okay? And I want to see you too.”
How was this man so good to me? “Want to meet at my house in half an hour? Bring Goliath.”
“That sounds perfect. Do you need company while you drive home or would you rather be alone?”He really did know me well.
“I wouldn’t mind the company. I kinda wish I would’ve taken you up on your offer to come with me.” I felt my cheeks flush at the admission.
Winter was quiet for a beat, and I felt my cheeks heat even more. But then he said,“I’m sorry you had a rough time, but that wasn’t a one-time offer. If you need backup or just another person with you, you can call me. Anytime. Anywhere.”
I sucked in some air. “I… um… thank you.”
“Anytime.”
