Page 82 of Kiss the Girl

TWELVE

It was late when Savannah finally decided to go home. Austin, Mia, Emma, Garrett, and Jackson were all still at the hospital, along with Grace and Dominic.

His family.

Grace had asked her to stay, but…it didn’t feel right.

Besides, Cash was stable for the night, and now things were going to just go day by day. As much as she wanted answers for how to prepare, there were none, and it sucked. But unlike what she had gone through with her father, there were a ton of people there for Cash and for that, she was happy for him.

It felt weird to come home to the tiny rental and be alone.

Actually, it felt weird to be alone, period.

The truth was that Savannah had never really been alone except those last few days when her father was in the hospital. With a weary sigh, she put her purse down and kicked off her shoes and wondered what to do with herself. She was exhausted but wasn’t sure she’d be able to sleep. Earlier, she had texted Parker to let her know what was going on and to apologize that she wouldn’t be coming in to work for a few days. It was a rotten thing to do at a new job, but she knew Parker understood.

Walking into the kitchen, she aimlessly opened cabinets and the refrigerator, even though she wasn’t hungry or thirsty. Grace had brought dinner up to the hospital—a Mexican casserole that was one of Cash’s favorites. Sadly, he only took a single bite and smiled, but claimed he wasn’t hungry. Savannah had forced herself to eat the small portion she had taken, but her appetite had been non-existent as well.

Besides having to sit and watch her friend’s life slowly ebb away, she’d had to deal with Jackson’s earlier outburst and the fact that he wouldn’t even look at her all day. Not that she was surprised. It just took him a little longer to show his true feelings. She knew it was coming and yet there was a small part of her that secretly wanted him to be different.

For him to want her despite all the obstacles.

“For those of you keeping track, it’s Savannah, zero. Universe, six,” she murmured, grabbing a bottle of water.

It was ridiculous to keep walking around in circles, so she went to take a hot shower to wash the day and the hospital smell off of herself. After going to her room and picking up her robe, she strolled into the bathroom and turned the water on as hot as she could. And when she stepped under the spray and it scalded her skin, she almost welcomed it.

And then she cried.

She cried loud, painful sobs that echoed off the walls and yet she couldn’t seem to stop. It wasn’t until the water started to cool that she realized just how long she’d been in there. She forced herself to take several cleansing breaths before turning the water off. Her movements were slow and her limbs felt heavy, but she managed to step out and dry off before slipping her robe on. Putting her hair up in a towel and some moisturizer on her face, she slowly padded back out to the living room and curled up in Cash’s recliner.

Her eyes had just drifted shut when there was a knock on the door. She jumped and her heart hammered hard in her chest.

“What the hell…?”

As soon as she stood and could see out the front window, she saw him.

Jackson.

Unfortunately, he saw her too, so there was no way she could simply pretend she was asleep and didn’t hear the knock.

“Next time, remember to get blinds for the windows,” she muttered as she walked over and opened the door, but didn’t step aside to let him in. With the screen door between them, she stood there defiantly. “What do you want, Jackson?”

In the blink of an eye, she watched as he went from his normal, confident self to someone more contrite.

“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he said, his voice soft and sincere. “It couldn’t have been easy coming home alone, and…you shouldn’t have had to come here by yourself.”

Arching a brow at him, she shrugged. “I’m fine. Besides, I’m no one’s responsibility. This is where I’m living for now, so it’s not like I had a choice.”

It was a miracle her voice didn’t crack.

He nodded and slid his hands into his pockets. “Um…can I come in? I’d really like to talk to you.”

“Thanks, but…I think you said it all today, and I’m exhausted, so…”

“I’m sorry,” he quickly blurted out. “I…I’m really,reallysorry, Savannah. What I said today was completely inexcusable and…” Pausing, he let out a small growl of frustration. “I didn’t expect to feel like this, okay? I thought I wouldn’t care when the time came with Cash and all of this.” Pulling his hands back out of his pockets, his arms helplessly dropped to his sides. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I tend to stick my foot in my mouth a lot and that’s what I did today. It wasn’t about you; it was about me. And Cash. You didn’t deserve any of it and…I’m sorry.”

“Okay.”

That clearly took him by surprise and his mouth opened and shut several times, but nothing came out.

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