This was exactly why she’d been so adamant in Jessie’s office that she didn’t want Billy to do this. This is exactly what she’d been successfully able to avoid for years. To Billy this was probably just another Friday night, to her, to her this was the culmination of a decade-long crush that may or may not have morphed into a slight case of infatuation.
Frustration, panic, and embarrassment battled for the gold medal in her emotional Olympics. Panic won the race.
What was she going to do?
How was she going to face him?
What was she going to say?
Through the door she could hear his muffled voice. Leaning forward she pressed her ear to the wood and tried to make out what he was saying. She couldn’t. More questions filled her mind.
Was he on the phone?
Who would he be talking to at this hour?
What was he saying?
She didn’t have any answers to the questions swirling in her head like a tornado, but she did know she wouldn’t get them by staying in here. Although…sleeping in the tub sounded a lot better than what was on the other side of that door.
But he’ll still be here in the morning, a small voice in the back of her head reminded her.
Knowing that it was right, she grabbed her robe off the hook and wrapped it around herself as she stepped up to the sink. When she caught a look at her reflection in the mirror she almost didn’t recognize herself. The woman staring back at her looked…looked wild. Her hair was a crazy mess. Her skin was flushed a deep shade of pink and her lips were so swollen it looked like she’d had injections.
Using little finesse, she grabbed a ponytail holder off of the countertop and pulled her hair up in a messy bun, splashed some water on her face, and tightened the belt around her robe. Time to act like the adult she was and stop hiding in the bathroom.
Before opening the door she formed a mental game plan. If Billy was still standing there in the room in all his naked glory, she’d do her best to keep her eyes above his shoulders, casually mention that she was tired after her long week and say that she was going to grab some water before she went to bed. Hopefully he’d take the hint, wish her a good night, and go to bed himself. If he wasn’t there she’d shut and lock her bedroom door, crawl into bed, pull the covers over her head and hide there.
She was really hoping that the second scenario would be the one that played out.
After inhaling deeply she opened the door and didn’t find either of the things she’d planned for. Billy was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt, bent over the side of her bed putting his shoes on.
When he heard the door he looked up and the second she saw his face she knew something was wrong. Had someone been caught? Were the police here?
She froze in the doorway.
“You need to get dressed.”
“What’s wrong?” her strained voice was barely audible.
His expression was blank and void of emotion. “I just got off the phone with the Colonel. Charlie was staying with him before he headed back home tomorrow. About an hour ago he woke up complaining of chest pains and collapsed in the hallway and was unresponsive. The Colonel did CPR until the paramedics came. He’s at the hospital now, that’s all I know.”
Her entire world came to a screeching halt. She was having sex, with Billy, while her dad was…
“No, no, no,” she repeated as her head shook back and forth. She lifted her hands to her mouth and felt tears falling down her face. This couldn’t be happening.
Maxi watched, unable to move as Billy stood and grabbed clothes out of her dresser. He pulled off her robe and helped her into her underwear, jeans and a sweatshirt before grabbing flip flops from her closet and slipping them on her feet.
“We have to go.” His arm snaked around her waist as he led her to the front door, grabbing her purse on the way. Once they were on the elevator, he pulled her tighter to him and whispered against her ear, “He’s going to be okay.”
But this time his words didn’t calm her or make her feel better. It was an empty, hollow promise. Still, she tried to cling to it. To grasp the lifeline that he’d offered, even as she felt the harshness of life crashing over her and dragging her under.
“He’s going to be okay,” Billy repeated.
This time she nodded. Her dad had to be okay. He was her everything. It was the two of them, always. They were a team. He was all she had.