“Yes!” I snapped at her. “Because I haven’t been playing any games. I love Lexa. It’s everyone else in this goddamn town who has been fucking with her head.”
“Maybe you do love her. Maybe you don’t,” Willa said with a twist of her lips. “But right now, Lexa isn’t so sure. Have you even told her how you feel, dumbass? Perhaps everyone was able to fuck with her head, as you put it, because you haven’t been clear enough about this supposed love you have for her.”
Fuck, she was right about that too. I hadn’t told Lexa I loved her yet. No damn wonder she so easily believed all the bullshit everyone—including my own grandmother—said about me.
As I was agonizing over that fact, the doorbell rang.
Felicity got to her feet, that same smug grin on her face again. “Oh my, who could that be, I wonder,” she singsonged as she walked to the door, humming happily to herself.
I was on edge even before she opened the damn thing, knowing I wasn’t going to like this one little bit.
“Theo!” she exclaimed, louder than necessary for my benefit, and I balled my hands into fists as she hugged the guy standing before her. “Sweetheart, what a perfect, wonderful surprise.”
“How are you, Mrs. Hannigan?” he greeted with respect and a smile I knew would melt any pussy. “Sorry to drop by without calling.”
“No, no, honey, we’re used to you boys popping in unexpectedly,” she laughed, waving him in. “We were just talking to Sheriff Davis, who was about to leave.”
“I’m not leaving.” And to prove my point, I dropped down into the recliner perpendicular to the couch and met Theo’s gaze head on. His dark brows lifted, a mixture of emotions in them that I couldn’t clearly read, which was new for me. I put his age at about twenty, but he easily could have been either younger or older. He was a good-looking asshole, and I didn’t doubt he got into girls’ pants quickly enough. But what I really wanted to know was if he’d gotten into Lexa’s in any way. “Especially if he’s staying.”
She shrugged. “We have plenty of extra rooms. Theo, you can stay in the same one as last time. It’s right across the hall from Lexa’s. You go on and freshen up and let Lexa know you’re here.”
I jumped up just as quickly as I’d sat. “The fuck, woman?” I glared at her as I stomped up the stairs after Theo to the sound of Willa laughing her ass off.
Theo didn’t even glance back at me as he made his way to the room straight across from Lexa’s. I stood outside her door as he opened his own. As the door closed, he gave me a cocky smirk, and I flipped him off.
As soon as the door shut, I was knocking on Lexa’s. “Baby, open up,” I called out, but I got no answer. Muttering a curse, I twisted the knob and stepped inside.
The room was in total darkness, and I knew before I even turned on the light that she wasn’t there.
“Lexa!”
Chapter 19
Lexa
I stopped outside my bedroom door, but I hesitated before opening it. My heart was hurting so damn bad, and all I really wanted was my mom.
Moving on down the hall, I knocked on my parents’ door before cracking it open. I heard the TV and expected Mom to be in bed, the covers tucked in around her, relaxing. But she wasn’t there. I heard a curse and looked straight at the window.
Mom was half in, half out of it, her eyes wide like a deer caught in the headlights of an oncoming eighteen-wheeler. “Well, don’t just stand there, honey. Either come with me, or cover for me with your aunts.”
The choice was easy enough for me. For one, I didn’t know where she was going, but I knew she was going to be breaking all kinds of the doctor’s rules. For another, Ben was downstairs, and I didn’t know if I could face him again after he’d basically confessed his grandmother was right.
I shut and locked Mom’s door then sprinted across the room. She finished climbing out, and I was right behind her.
It was easier for me to get off the roof first and then help her down. Once we were both on the ground, she took my hand and, with a wicked grin, tugged me toward the driveway. We ran two blocks before she stopped beside a parked truck I didn’t recognize.
“Where are we going?” I whispered, glancing around to make sure no one was watching us as she pulled a key fob out of her pocket and unlocked the doors with the press of a button.
She tossed me the fob. “You drive. I’m still not supposed to.”
Brows lifted at her, I got behind the wheel. “Really, Mom? You just ran like we were being chased by the devil himself. Pretty sure you’re not supposed to do that either.”
“I’m attempting to be good,” she said with a snicker.
I started the truck, but I had no clue where to go. “Any particular destination in mind? Or am I going to drive aimlessly?”
She plugged an address into the GPS and sat back. “There you go.”