Valiant thief, p.14
Valiant Thief, page 14
part #1 of Seattle Crime Syndicate Series
“I’m sorry,” I manage weakly, and Michael frowns at me as I shuffle from foot to foot. “I just . . . you know, you always give off that vibe. The advice, and the parties, and you j-just have this ‘dad’ thing.”
“I hope you realize how sad and pathetic that is, Kaitlyn.” He starts, but my phone buzzes in my palm, forgotten and shocking. I tear my eyes off him, but when I look up again, Michael is walking out of the apartment to leave me here, alone. Answering the call without looking at the ID, I hold the phone to my ear with one hand and cover my forehead with the other.
“Hello?”
“K-Kaitlyn, oh my God, are you okay? Where are you? We’re at your apartment, and we’ve been waiting for an hour!” My mom practically cries into my ear, and I wince the sound piercing my brain with an invisible skewer. Pinching the bridge of my nose, I wander towards an overstuffed recliner to drop down heavily as she continues wailing.
“Waiting for what? I’m not coming back to my condo tonight, Mom,” I say blandly, wondering why I even had to repeat myself, and my mom gasps in shock. “Go back to Arizona by yourselves. I already told Jessie, I refuse to abandon the life I built, because you say so. I gotta take care of Owen, and I have to work tomorrow. I’m probably gonna do it remotely, though. It’s just research.”
Stammering wildly, my mom’s utter, stupefying surprise makes it impossible to answer, but I am already shaking my head. “You know what, it doesn’t matter. I’m done worrying about upsetting people, Mom. I finally realized there’s a difference between being a good person and being a doormat, and I’m done being a doormat.”
Throwing myself back to bluster a huge breath, I let my phone tumble to the floor as I yank the lever and put up my feet. When I close my eyes, I can’t open them again, and my mind wanders to the last few days as contempt rises in my throat. The entire weekend had started terrible and ended even worse, and I am drained. Drained of feelings, tears, and energy.
And tomorrow, I have to call Dan and explain what happened at the bar. Remote logging into my computer at work isn’t the problem, it’s just having to do it in the first place. Groaning softly, I roll onto my side to curl up and cover my face with my arm. “Owen will be awake tomorrow, at least.”
“I’m awake now.” Stiffening at his gruff tone, I crack open my eyes to gasp in horror, and he sniffles harshly as he shuffles heavily into the living room. “Move over.”
“You shouldn’t be up,” I protest weakly, but I scoot over as he limps his way over to drop into the chair with a groan. Very carefully pulling his legs up, he leans back and sighs as he settles into the chair and wraps his arm under my head and over my shoulder. “I wish you’d listen to medical advice once in a while.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He mutters tiredly, and I yawn hard when his chest rises sharply against my cheek. The faint smell of antiseptic wafts into my nose, but it’s not so bad anymore. “I know what I’m doin’, huh? Not my first time getting stitched up.”
“I’m gonna keep worryin’,” I mumble softly, and Owen hums and nuzzles my forehead with his cheek. He’s right, this is hard. But I could feel it, that this is so, so worth it. “I don’t know what I’m gonna do with you yet.”
“I do. I’m gonna marry you. That was my thought—before I killed Rowlan, I thought . . . I’m gonna marry you, Kaitlyn . . . and I wasn’t gonna let him live to threaten you if I died,” Owen’s sluggish, slurring words pierce my heart, and I wrap my arm over his chest gingerly to stroke his opposite cheek with tingling fingers. “But right now . . . I’m tired, and y-you’re tired, so we can be tired together.”
“I’d be open to that . . . eventually.” Butterflies flutter in my belly when he smiles faintly against my forehead, and I can see it behind my eyelids. My eventually.
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Emily Sharp, Valiant Thief
