Page 102 of Bad For A Weekend

Baylor

Three months later...

“Bay, this place is lit.” Ziggy spins in a circle, taking in our new home.

I grin at his enthusiasm. “I knew you’d like it.”

Brandy and I spent most of the summer furnishing the place since we had to cancel the trip Dad planned for us so I could recover. Much to Dad’s dismay, I went opposite his moody aesthetic and filled the space with warm colors. The couch is pale orange, the end table is rattan, and the coffee table is a mid-century modern piece with thin legs and a unique rounded top. There’s a giant monstera in a copper pot in the corner and a gray textured rug underneath it all.

“Where am I at?” he asks.

“Our bedrooms are down this way,” I point to the right, “and Brandy’s room is on the opposite side. I figured we should give her some privacy.”

“Good idea. She doesn’t need to hear all the action I’ll be getting.” He rubs his hands together in anticipation.

“Gross.” I smack his arm. “I don’t want to hear that shit either.”

“I suggest investing in some noise-canceling headphones then.”

I lead him down the hall. “I miss Sara.”

“Have you spoken to her lately?”

“Just a few texts. Sounds like NYU is treating her well.” I open Ziggy’s bedroom door motioning for him to enter.

Nothing in here will surprise him since he picked everything out with the help of his mom. His walls are painted a rich brown, his bed is covered in cream fabric—his bedding bringing in touches of brown, cobalt blue, and mustard—and the furniture is also mid-century modern with brass hardware.

He flops onto the queen-size bed. “I’m in heaven.”

“Want to see mine?” I ask.

“Show me.” He hops up and follows me across the hall.

Since he didn’t care about having an ensuite, I took the primary. Everything in this room is over the top, from the low-profile walnut canopy bed to the wall with pale coral panel molding in a geometric pattern. I incorporated a lot of texture with a cream faux fur rug, a tufted gray bench, and a modern brass chandelier.

“You did good, kid.” He hooks me with an arm around the back of my neck.

“Thanks.”

“Can you believe we’re finally on our own?”

I wish I had it in me to be as excited as he is, but I’ve been numb since Owen left me in the hospital. That was the last day I remember feeling anything. Ever since, I’ve been a zombie.

“You’re not on your own,” Dad says, peaking his head into the room. “Brandy is here, and she will be watching.”

“Yeah, right. We’re the ones who’ll have to babysit her,” Ziggy jokes, walking toward the door. “I’m gonna go tell the movers where to put everything.”

“My baby girl’s first place.” Dad walks the perimeter of the room, checking it out. “Time flew right by me.”

“Yeah, pretty crazy.”

“What’s wrong, Baylor? You haven’t been yourself since the hospital,” he says. I open my mouth to tell him I’m fine, but he cuts me off. “And don’t tell me you’re fine. It’s a lie, and I’ve never known you to be a liar.”

I sit on the bench at the end of the bed, debating how honest to be. But there’s no point in keeping my secrets from him anymore. Owen can’t be fired because we’re no longer employing Hudson’s company. The threat to my life is gone, and with Dad leaving the country and me living away from him, I hopefully won’t have a spotlight on me the way I did before.

The only thing holding me back is knowing he’ll be disappointed in me. I hid something big from him, and there’s no way I can make him understand how Owen and I were together. He’ll only see our relationship from the outside—a much older man and a teenager.

But I’m tired of the lies, and maybe if I open up and get it all out, I’ll feel something again. Even if it’s sadness, I welcome it over this void infesting my mind.

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