Page 59 of Fragile Kiss (Fragile 2)
He barely heard her tiny voice say goodbye. Hanging up, he booked the quickest flight over to Rodney and sent her the details.
She replied with a screenshot of their messages on her side. I’m so sorry. I texted you that I was leaving but I never sent it. Must have went to airplane mode.
He read the message and almost felt physical pain. I have to go. Andrew was in an accident. I’m sorry. I’ll call you when I get there. It wasn’t much to go by, but he could tell she was panicking when she typed it.
No worries, okay? he sent back. I’ll see you soon. How’s your stomach?
Her response wasn’t the one he wanted to read. I had a flare-up. Trying to keep it under control.
Tell me what you need, and I’ll bring it.
I don’t need anything except for Andrew to wake up.
Cayden pursed his lips, really struggling with his memory of Andrew. When he came to visit Lillian before Cayden moved temporarily to Los Angeles, he had walked through her front door without even so much as a glance in Cayden’s direction. It went on for a couple of days like that. Thankfully, Lillian had done something that seemed to fix the issue, and the last few days of his visit Andrew was sure to include Cayden in conversations.
Nothing shakes a first impression, he thought smugly, reminding himself that he was doing this for Lillian—this would show her how much she meant to him, much more than a little flower and a call from the front desk.
His flight was in a few hours. He hailed a cab to take him back home, and wracked his brain for something to bring her. Food, probably. He knew she forgot to eat when she was stressed. She liked pizza. Yeah, he thought, feeling his own stomach growling. I’ll bring her a pizza.
Back in his house, he absentmindedly threw some clothes and his toothbrush into a backpack. Poking his head out the window he looked for Janine’s car, but saw that it was gone and their four-car garage was closed. He sighed, relived that she wasn’t there to drill him with questions. Hey Janine, he texted her. I had a little emergency come up with...
He drew a blank. Lillian wasn’t his girlfriend, and that sounded lame anyway. with my family, he decided. She wouldn’t know, anyway. I need to leave for a few days to make sure everything is okay. I’ll call my replacement and have him take over for me. Rolling his eyes, he sent the message. Janine wouldn’t recognize the new guy’s name as long as Cayden was in the picture.
His phone rang loudly, startling him. He groaned. “Hi, Janine.”
“Cayden, is everything okay?”
“Everything’ll be fine. Thanks, Janine.”
“Do you need anything?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m leaving soon.”
“I’ll be home in about twenty minutes to send you off.”
He grimaced, clenching his teeth. “Don’t worry about it. I’m leaving for the airport now.”
“I thought you had somewhere to go tonight?”
“I guess this is the new somewhere.”
“What time’s your flight?”
Get out of this phone call! “Hey, Jani
ne, my car’s here. I’ll be in touch about your new coach. Don’t worry about me.”
Cayden’s abrupt shutdown of the question tirade caught her off-guard. “Oh...okay. You promise to tell me if you need anything.”
“I will. ’Bye, Janine.” He hung up quickly. I’ve got to book a car—now.
Thankfully, he was on his way to the airport before any sign of Janine getting home. It meant that he would be too early to check in, but he didn’t mind. Rushing was more Lillian’s thing than his.
As he walked to a coffee shop to lounge until check-in, he remembered the many mornings Lillian woke up all at once, freaking out over sleeping five minutes later than her alarm. Cayden would lie in the bed and watch her run around the room like a chicken with its head cut off, trying to piece together an outfit and take a shower and save the world at the same time. It brought a smile to his face. I hope we can go back to those days soon.
He took the time before walking through security to arrange for Janine’s new trainer to start and find a pizza place open past midnight that would deliver—luckily it wasn’t that hard, since Rodney was a bigger-sized city.
Getting to his gate was nothing but smooth sailing. For a little while he wondered if he was heartless by not feeling totally broken over Andrew’s accident, but he told himself it was okay. He had only met the guy once, and it hadn’t been ideal. He was more excited about seeing Lillian than anything—and this time she wouldn’t be whisked away by Katharina. He would have at least a few days with her. And he could hold her while she stayed with Andrew until he woke up. That was plenty of time to work things out and show her that he was serious about getting back together with her.
