“Dammit, Iris. Was he listening to us this whole time?”
“It’s not like I have much of a choice when you’re the one calling at two a.m.,” Declan replies for her.
“I need the moral support.”
“Or a congratulations based on the news.”
“Did you just crack a joke about me possibly being a father?” Horror creeps into my voice.
“It’s either that or yell at you about having unprotected sex.”
“I’d really rather that.” I’m honestly up for anythingbutmy brother making jokes about me becoming a dad. I don’t know what called for such a change in his character, but I can only imagine it has to do with Iris.
Declan whispers something I don’t quite catch. Iris giggles before the line goes dead.
“Iris?” I check the screen for a dropped call. It still looks like she is connected, but no sounds come from her end of the line.
She put you on mute.“Don’t mind me. I’m just on the verge of having a mental breakdown.”
“Sorry! Declan needed to ask me something.” Her breathy voice sends a full-body shudder through me.
“I’ll just call you tomorrow morning when my brother isn’t busy doing whatever makes you sound likethat.”
“Wait!” She must mute the call again before coming back thirty seconds later. “I told Declan to give me ten minutes.”
I drop face-first onto the bed, wishing the fall would knock me out. “I’m not sure why I thought calling you was a good idea, but I regret it immensely.”
“Because I’m your best friend and you needed me.” She actually coos.
“Debatable after the last few minutes of this conversation.”
She huffs. “I don’t like it when you’re all grumpy. It reminds me of your brothers.”
“Sorry, I’m all out of rainbows and unicorns today. Check back in tomorrow to see if I’m in astop and smell the roseskind of mood again.”
“How can I help you out?”
“I’m not sure there is much you can do. This is all turning out to be a big pain in my ass.” After watching my brothers struggle with their tasks, I knew mine wouldn’t be easy, but I didn’t think my grandfather would force Lana and me to live together again after the last time he and I spoke.
I’m pissed I didn’t connect the dots sooner. Instead, I prolonged the inevitable and made the process harder given my limited timeframe.
And this is why you shouldn’t procrastinate.
“If selling the house was really that simple, then you would’ve cleared out the place and sold it a long time ago. We both know you put off completing your grandfather’s request because something was holding you back.”
Not something, butsomeone.
A phone alarm I forgot to shut off has me groaning into my pillow. The taste of poor decisions and cheap alcohol lingers on my tongue, making my already queasy stomach churn.
You shouldn’t have drunk so much last night.
It’s the same thing I say almost every morning when I wake up, although the selection from the mini fridge doesn’t help matters.
Rather than obsess over my bad choices, I ditch the motel room and escape into town. Since I don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to myself this morning by stopping at the busy diner, I pull into the small coffee shop near Town Hall. The Angry Rooster has a single barista hustling behind the counter, taking orders and making drinks without breaking a sweat.
All it takes is one sip from my cup of coffee to have me dropping a twenty in the jar labeled,On a scale of $1 to $10, how big is your…?Whoever wrote the sign covered up the bad word with an emoji of a rooster. It makes me laugh, which in turn makes my head throb.
The barista chokes on her sudden inhale, so I drop another twenty in the jar solely to entertain myself with how red her face turns.