Page 63 of Like You Know

My gaze met Turner’s and stuck. Whatever he saw in my eyes made him sit up straight.

“This has something to do with BestLyf.” It was a statement, his voice certain.

I nodded, and he got to his feet to stand before me.

I kept my eyes on his. I couldn’t look at anyone else—they wouldn’t really understand. But Turner would. He’d lived this nightmare already.

“They took my mom,” I wailed, and the emotional dam finally broke. I caught a glimpse of Turner’s devastated expression before my vision blurred, and he pulled me into a fierce hug.

* * *

I woke up the next morning with a start, the horrible events of the previous night rushing through me as violently as wakefulness. I couldn’t even have that second of disorientation where your brain takes a moment to catch up.

“You’re OK. You’re OK.” Mena rubbed my shoulder, sitting down next to me on the couch. “You’re at Donna and Harlow’s. You’re safe.”

I drew my knees up to my chest as my heart rate slowed down. I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch after telling my friends all the gory details of my eventful evening. Fuck Jet for telling me to keep my mouth shut. My friends and I had been in too many situations where secrets blew up in our faces. I may not have been the most intelligent one in our friend group, but I was smart enough to learn from mistakes. I’d told them everything.

Afterward, I’d scrubbed my face and put on borrowed sweats, but I couldn’t even remember drifting off. I must’ve just crashed once the adrenaline vacated my body.

They hadn’t left me all alone though. There was an extra pillow and blanket on the sectional where Mena must’ve slept. Turner was in one of the armchairs. He didn’t look as if he’d slept at all.

“Hey, Amaya.” The girls’ mom walked into the living room with a sad expression on her face.

“Good morning, Emily. Thanks for letting me crash.”

“Of course. You know you’re always welcome.” She sat on my other side and brushed my tangled hair over one shoulder. Such a motherly gesture. I sat up and stretched so I wouldn’t cry. “The girls told me what happened. Sweetheart, I’m so sorry.”

All I could do was nod and frown down at my lap. What the hell was I supposed to do now?

“I want you to come stay with us a while, all right? And I won’t take no for an answer. I don’t want you alone in that big house. Especially not now.”

I nodded again and managed a croaky “thank you.”

“Are you hungry? Magda is nearly finished getting breakfast ready.”

The Meads’ housekeeper put on an epic breakfast spread, but I wasn’t sure I could eat anything. “Maybe just some coffee to start?”

“Sure. You take your time and come get some when you’re ready.” With that, she left, passing Donna and Harlow on her way out.

“We didn’t tell her about Jet,” Harlow rushed out as soon as her mom was out of earshot. “Just about how ... yeah ... what happened with your mom.”

“It’s OK.” I sighed. “I don’t give a shit about keeping his secrets anyway. He can stick them up his tight ass.”

“There’s my girl.” Donna grinned at me.

Turner got to his feet and stretched. “I gotta go home and shower. Get some sleep. I’ve got a shift tonight.”

“Thanks for staying. You didn’t have to do that,” I told him honestly. I was surprised he’d stayed, but I appreciated it more than I knew how to express. Drew and Easton had left before I got into the details. Hendrix had stayed and was probably still snoring in Donna’s bed.

“It was nothing.” He shrugged, and Mena walked him out.

I took some time to clean up and head into the breakfast area off the kitchen. Richard Mead had joined the rest of his family, and Hendrix looked as if he’d just dragged his ass down the stairs, while Magda bustled around making sure everyone had what they needed. She placed a steaming mug of coffee in front of me before I even had to ask for it.

“Thank you.” I smiled up at her, and she gave me one of her stoic Magda looks and a firm squeeze of my shoulder. I sipped my coffee in silence and watched them all eat as a family.

Would I ever have a family? Or was I doomed to walk through life alone? My dad died when I was a kid, and my mom may as well have died the same day—that was how absent she’d been in my life. Then when it seemed as if she might finally get her shit together, she was taken. And the guy I was falling for wasn’t even who he said he was.

Was it me? Was I the problem?

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