I was leaving a meeting and going to another meeting when my phone started ringing. Glancing down, seeing it was Matt calling, and knowing he was back at the Chesapeake, I answered just as I was sliding into the back of the SUV.
“Yeah?”
Josh shut my door and went around to the front passenger side. I was alone in the back and I heard a biting greeting: “She’s cutting carrots, Kash.”
I frowned.
“Bailey?”
He snapped, “No. Payton.Yes, Bailey. I wanted her to go to Naveah with me today, and she wouldn’t stop cutting those fucking carrots. Carrots. She’s begging to work in the kitchen. Theresa couldn’t get rid of her this morning, so she put her to work. My sister, who is one of the smartest people I know—and I come from a family of geniuses—is dicing through carrots like her life depends on it.What the fuck, Kash?What the fuck?”
I sighed on the inside.
On the inside, I wanted to swear with him, rage on the phone.
On the inside, I wanted to go back to the Chesapeake and hold Bailey until she could start feeling again.
But all I did was murmur quietly, resting my head backagainst the seat, because suddenly I was fucking wiped. “She’s in mourning.”
“Yeah.” Another biting word from him. “Three weeks ago. Chrissy died three weeks ago. She—Bailey—she should—”
“He waited.”
Matt swallowed his words. He was silent.
I said again, “He waited, Matt. He waited until she could see and then he killed Chrissy. Bailey knows this. She’s done the math in her head. She is probably haunted by that day every minute of every hour. She has a photographic memory. She is a genius—”
“I know!”
Another sigh, from me. “She needs time.”
He was silent again.
Then a strained, “I can’t lose my sister. I just got her.”
“I know.” My head was too heavy to rest. I let it hang. I let my shoulders slump. “I know.”
“I want her back.”
I did, too.
“I’m going to get wasted today,” he said. “Like, you better send a full detail on me, because I’m letting you know ahead of time. I’m drinking. I’ll probably fuck a few girls today, maybe a few more tonight. I’ll try and not do drugs, but I can’t make promises. I can only promise that I’m going to be stupid today. I need it, Kash.” He was breathing heavily into the phone. I could hear his restraint slipping. “Watching Bailey choose to remain a zombie every day is killing me. And I liked Chrissy. I really liked her, too, but I can’t handle this shit. It’s too close. It’s just like…”
It was just like when his own mother died.
Matt was a brother to me. My meetings weren’t saving lives today. I had done as much as I could today in regard to my war against Calhoun.
I squared my shoulders up and addressed Josh. “Cancel the rest of my meetings for the day and take me to Naveah.”
Matt stopped talking on his end. “You serious?”
I heard his happiness and my gut shifted.
I’d been neglecting someone I considered a brother.
“I’m coming to you.”
“What about Bailey?” His voice had grown hoarse.