I snorted, unable to help myself. “I’ve been hospitalized over a kiss,” he teased. “Doesn’t get more embarrassing than that.”
She sighed, then shot me a rueful smile. “The police were called in, and they’re probably going to have to question you. I mean, I told them everything that happened, but they just need it from your perspective too.”
It was then I realized how fortunate I was that Lauren wasn’t a bitch by nature. Talk about having the ammunition to ruin my life with this situation.
The ultimate payback could have been wrought by her today, and yet, she hadn’t. She’d told the truth.
I wasn’t surprised, but I was relieved.
I’d worked too hard to have my life come tumbling down around me, and I’d never imagined a simple kiss could be the catalyst for that disaster.
“I’m sorry about your mom’s friend.”
She closed her eyes. “Me too. But I’m sorrier about your head. Jeez, you must be in a lot of pain. She hit you really hard.”
“Yeah, apparently Jane should have played ball back in the day.” I grimaced. “It does hurt.”
“They’re going to check you for concussion, I think, so don’t expect much sleep tonight.”
I pulled a face. “Reminds me of when I played football back in school.”
“Had many concussions, did you?”
I nodded though I knew she was teasing me. “Yeah. I did. Enough to get benched and almost lose out on a scholarship because of it.”
“No way,” she breathed, the horror in her eyes real. “That could have derailed all your plans.”
I squeezed her hand. “I’d have figured out a way.”
“You always were so determined,” she murmured softly. “I envied you that.”
“Why? You had your own goals too.”
“I did, but they were never as urgent as yours.”
“You weren’t hungry, Lauren. And I’m glad you weren’t.”
She tilted her head to the side. “What do you mean?”
I blew out a breath. “Some nights, my mom didn’t make enough tips to feed us. We went without food if she had to pay rent or was behind on a bill. And there was never a bill she wasn’t behind on,” I admitted. “She was terrible with money.”
Her eyes rounded. “I knew you were poor but...”
“I kept it from you because I was embarrassed.” I blew out a breath. “It was bad enough that we barely got to spend any time together because I was always goddamn working, but to tell you that too? Jesus, I’d have been lucky if you didn’t run off.”
“As if I would,” she told me crossly. “I was proud of you, silly. I wished we could spend more time together, but I understood. I was luckier than you, and you had it hard with all the jobs and everything.”
I shrugged. “I was just grateful to be there.”
“I know. I can understand now why you were mad at me for failing those classes.” Her lips curved in a smile. “I did good on those Finals by the way.”
“Glad to hear it,” I joked, knowing she meant European History and Psychology, the two classes that had been her nemeses and the ones she’d been failing that day I’d gone to talk to her about us breaking up.
“Your mom’s sickness… it didn’t stop you from graduating, did it?”
“No. But I moved back home and stayed around to be with her. She didn’t need much care, to be honest, but the thought of losing her made me cling. A lot.” She shot me a smile. “By the end, I think I was driving her crazy. She could barely get up to pee without one of us asking if she was okay.”
“That’s how it should be,” I told her softly.