Walking over, I give my best friend a quick hug. “What are you doing here?”
He shrugs. “You think I can't tell when you're dealing with something? Z, I've known you since I was five.”
“Yeah, I know.” I run my fingers through my hair. “A lot has been going on lately.”
Reaching into the fridge, he grabs a beer and opens it, then passes it to me. “Want to talk about it?”
No. Yes. No. “Honestly, I don't even know how to explain it right now, so not really. Drinking a few beers and bullshitting is exactly what I need right now.”
He hums. “Okay, but just know, I'm going to get to the bottom of it before I go back to Rhode Island. I don't care if I have to send Delaney back by herself.”
“Oh, Delaney's here, too?”
His eyes roll. “Subtle topic change. Yeah, but you know how her and Tessa are. Easton dropped her off at Asher's condo before we came back here.”
I mock offense with a hand to my chest. “You had Easton pick you up from the airport and not me?”
“Well, I wasn't sure if you'd hang up on me again, fucker,” he teases.
And okay, he has a point. Knox has always said I'm the calm and collected type, and normally I am. So, hanging up on him and sounding as flustered as I'm sure I did, probably sent up red flags all around. If it was him, I probably would have hopped on a plane, too.
THE DINER WE USED to go to is filled with this year’s high school kids, but we couldn't resist coming back here. Every morning, after throwing an epic party the night before, we would come here and eat away our hangovers in greasy breakfast food. Granted, last night we only drank a few beers before passing out, but the comfort of it is all the same.
I'm sitting across from Knox and Delaney while we dig into the best breakfast around. I should probably feel like a total third wheel, but it's nice seeing him this happy. And Delaney is an awesome girl. Honestly, she reminds me a lot of Amelia, only less reckless.
“I'm surprised Easton didn't want to come,” she says.
Knox raises his brows at me. “Yeah, me too.”
Throwing my head back, I groan. “It's not that big of a deal. We simply disagreed on something.”
Delaney coos. “Is he being a little baby about it?”
“Nah, he's justified,” I answer. “But I'm also not going to apologize for it, either.”
Thankfully, with a shared glance at each other, they leave it alone.
I'm halfway through my breakfast when my phone vibrates on the table. Knox goes to look at it but I quickly swipe it up before he can see who's calling. Of course, it's Blade. Why wouldn't it be? He always calls at the worst time, and I have trouble believing it isn't intentional.
Every part of me wants to ignore it. Text him, tell him I'm busy and that I'll call him later. But doing shit like that is what got me into this mess. What got Amelia into this mess. Let's face it, I'm practically his slave right now.
I answer it and bring it to my ear.
“What's up?”
“I need you,” he demands, leaving no room for negotiation.
I sigh. “Now? I'm a little busy.”
“No, in a fucking month from now,” he scoffs. “Yes, now, asshole. Or do you need a reminder of what's at stake for you?”
“Okay,” I cave. “I'll meet you in twenty.”
Knox watches me suspiciously as I hang up the phone and try to mask my irritation. “Sorry, guys. We have to cut this short.”
Delaney looks down at her half-eaten plate, and I genuinely feel bad, but there's nothing I can do. I drove here, not thinking that Blade would need me before eleven in the morning. I can't exactly leave them here, but I can't not show up either.
I throw a couple bills onto the table for the food plus a generous tip, and the three of us head out. The whole ride back, I can all but see the gears turning in Knox's head. He's trying to figure out who called me and what they wanted, but he also knows not to ask. Lying to Knox isn't something I do. He can see right through it and always calls me out on it. But he also never asks me something he knows I don't want to tell. That's one of the things I respect about him.