Page 73 of The Other Side of Together

His Adam’s apple bobs, and he stares at me for a couple irritated breaths, then closes his eyes and lets out a long sigh. “M.C., I…yeah.” He swears and looks at me again. “We need to talk.”

“You think? Sounds like we should’ve talked before the whole love thing happened with whoever was on the other end of your phone. I mean, I don’t wanna point out the obvious, but you’ve practically nailed me to the floor to keep me from girls but aren’t keeping your own rules.” My words are hot, supercharged. “And what do you need to tell me besides you’re in love with some woman in another state? Cause I’m all ears. Wide awake since I’m home on time so I didn’t knock up Tavah. I heard everything except what someone else knows about me that I should know but don’t. So what is it and who is she?”

He stares at me, then drops his eyes to the bed before looking up again. “She…is Kenna.”

“Yeah, I heard. And?”

“Yeah.” He nods to his comforter.

“And Kenna just magically appeared. Like tonight? Yesterday? Definitely not four years ago when you decided I should be a monk.”

“No, M.C…look.” He slides to the end of his bed, gripping the mattress, digging his toes into the carpet as he watches them. “Corinne at work introduced us. Kenna’s her sister. She lives in Utah.”

“So you’ve never met her?”

“I have.”

“Online? FaceTime? How? When?”

“She’s come into town a few times and I—”

“And you lied. To me. Told me your were working or…?”

His jaw clenches, his pulse jumping in his neck. “Yeah.” He nods slowly. “I did.”

His confession is a nuclear bomb, and I’m running from the wave and the debris, bolting from the whole scene that just blew my world apart for the second time in two weeks. I haven’t seen Mei because of Dad. We fought because of Dad. Snuck around because of him. Stressed and dodged and felt guilty. For nothing. I’m out of here. Going to Mei’s, breaking her window if I have to. I’ll do whatever I want from now on. Not sticking around here to take second place.

I rip my shirt buttons out of their holes, fling it on my desk before peeling off my tux pants, my legs sweaty from running, and shaky from the brain assault. I pull on fresh boxer briefs, yank on a t-shirt and shorts before jamming my feet into my Adidas. I throw my door open and slam past Dad, who’s standing in the hall, arms crossed.

“Marcus, where are you going?”

“Call Kenna,” I say to the front door as I throw it open. “Maybe she’ll know.”

CHAPTER 27

“This the place?”

My eyes fly open when the driver speaks, my head lurching from the headrest as my body screams back to life. Backseat. No hotel, no Nick. Dark lanterns crisscrossing above the street. I check the time: 1:18 AM. Six hours since I left Nick bleeding in the hotel room. Six hours since Su Ling rushed me out a back entrance of the hotel. Six hours since I called the police. Six hours is enough time for Nick to wake up and send people after me. Or my family. Or Marcus.

But…It’s also enough time for him to get arrested.

I can’t take any chances. I haul my voice up my throat, “Yes, thanks.”

The driver scratches his arm. “Someone coming to meet you or…?”

Yes. Nick will be here if the police don’t find him. I just need Guo Mama to help me figure out where to go. I dial her number, squeezing the phone so tightly my fingertips tingle.I’m so sorry, I’m so sorry,

“Xiao Mei?”

Tears fill my eyes butbefore I can respond, Guo Mama shuffles to the shop door, phone at her ear. I disconnect the call and shrug out of the driver’s jacket, handing it to him over the seat before grabbing my bag and throwing open the car door.

Guo Mama’s eyes land on me and go from tired to afraid as I hold up my dress and stumble toward her. She thanks the driver before sweeping me inside and locking the door behind us.

My legs wobble, but her arms circle around me as she leads me through the store and into the breakroom. She pulls out a chair and holds onto me as I ease into it, then hurries back through the curtain and returns with a silk robe. She drapes it around me, before scurrying to the stove.

I pull the robe around me, letting the ripped dress slump to my lap while I stare at the linoleum, my mind unraveling as she works in silence. Every few seconds, she glances over her shoulder and a few minutes later, she takes my hands and wraps them around a steaming cup of tea.

“Drink. It will help.”

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