Andrew growled and stomped to his feet. “I need some air.” He looked at Susan. “Keep me company?”
She nodded. The way he pulled her to stand, his arm around her waist, and the tender gestures felt natural. She waited until they made it down the hallway, to a waiting room with a window overlooking the parking garage, before speaking. “How are you doing?”
“I feel like shit.” He turned his back to the glass and leaned against the wall underneath, before tugging her to face him. He trailed his gaze over her. “You’re a mess.”
She looked down. She was covered in dirt from crawling into the abandoned building. Brushing it away didn’t do her any good. “I guess so.”
“I should get you a ride home.” He didn’t move.
“I’d rather stay here. Make sure Lucas is all right. That you are. Unless you want me to go.”
“I really don’t.”
“Then I’m staying.”
He kicked from the wall and paced to another window at the far end of the room, and she stayed by his side. “I didn’t meet him for the first time until he was three.” Andrew stared out at the night. “Before then, I sent any spare cash back home to help Kandace. Buying a plane ticket home felt selfish, when I barely had any money as it was. When I saw him… There was no doubt he had my genes. Same gorgeous hair and swoon-worthy eyes.”
She leaned her arm into his. At least Andrew was himself, under the worry and grief. “I see that in him,” she said. “He’ll be a different kind of sweet-talker than you are, though.”
“As in, he’ll actually sweet-talk?”
“Sounds right.”
Andrew let out a forced chuckle. “It was hard for me to leave after that trip. Lucas was so happy with Kandace, though. And she obviously loved him. I was getting the business off the ground, and I’d never had that kind of money before. It was easy to convince myself I needed to get back out into the world, in order to keep things growing. I went back about six months later. It was harder to leave that time. After that, I got really good at making excuses for why I couldn’t come visit. I was terrified my being here would disrupt the life Kandace built for them.”
She’d heard this tone from him before. Seen the look in his eyes. Recognized the way he sounded like he was falling into the past. It was the same as when he told her the story about Belgium. Like then, pain on his behalf gnawed at her joints and echoed through her veins. Nothing she said would alleviate whatever tormented him.
He gripped the ledge until his knuckles turned red, then white. “When Mercy moved back here earlier this year, and I started flying out for meetings, I spent more and more time with Lucas and Kandace. I decided I didn’t want to be cut out of their lives anymore. Now… I wonder if I was being selfish again.”
“You didn’t cause this any more than that boy did.”
“I know. Or I tell myself I do. The mind plays funny tricks during times like this.”
She loosened his grip, to slide her hand under his, palm up. “You’re here now, and so is he. You’ve got time.”
“Yeah. We should get back.”
She nodded, though he didn’t see. They settled back into Lucas’s room and waited. She didn’t know how much time passed. An hour? Two? A ring filled the room. Andrew and Kandace didn’t look up. Susan fumbled in her jacket pocket, realizing she hadn’t returned Andrew’s phone. Mercy’s name was on the screen. Susan squeezed Andrew’s shoulder, then headed into the hallway.
“Hey.” She kept her voice low.
“Thank God you’re all right. I know I shouldn’t worry—you’re an adult and all—but you don’t have a phone or a car and you didn’t come home. You are okay, aren’t you?”
The concern soothed Susan more than she expected. “I am, but I don’t know when I’ll be back.”
“What’s going on?”
A spark of warmth spread through Susan at the questions. She gave Mercy a brief run-down of the last several hours.
“I don’t know what to say. How are Andrew and Kandace holding up?” Mercy asked.
“A lot of staring and worrying. About what you’d expect.”
“Call me if you have news but don’t make me a priority. And, hey.”
“Hmm…?” Susan said.
“Someone should be there for them. I’m glad it’s you.”