Page 118 of Ordinary Secrets

I’m not. “Honey, you didn’t . . .”

“I did.” He beams and even has the nerve to do it proudly.

I’m not sure if I should be mad, glad, frustrated, or thrilled. I’m a little of all. It’s the anger that comes out though. “Why would you do this? After all the reasons I told you not to?”

Javina flashes me aWhat the hell?look. “Ari! Ungrateful much?”

Trey hops out of the car with his arms up in surrender. “I bought the car under your name. It’s all yours. Fully paid for. No strings attached.”

I pretzel my arms together. “I’m not accepting it.”

Trey sighs heavily. “How ’bout you get in and drive it around before you make that decision?”

I’m about to protest again when Javina shoots her arm up. “Shotgun!”

Later that evening, Javina’s gone, and Trey and I are still arguing about the car thing.

I’m heated. “You know I have a meeting with a guy tomorrow to talk about buying his used car.”

“Exactly. I overheard you on the phone with him, and his car sounds as shitty as your ex. He said it’s missing a side mirror. What’s wrong with me buying you a nice car withallthe mirrors and extra safety features?”

“Because you got me a car I can’t afford!” I’m shouting, and I don’t want to be. I’m not a shouter, but Trey’s turning me into one.

He replies calmly, and it only pisses me off more. “Did you miss when I said that it’sfullypaid for?”

“I’m gonna have to pay you back.”

“No, you will not.” It’s the firmest and loudest thing he’s ever said to me.

I return the conviction. “Yes, I will.”

Things between us feel tense as we get ready for bed. We’ve stopped talking about the car, only because neither of us will back down. He’s told me that I’m “so goddamn difficult” at least four times now. Eventually, I get tired of arguing with him, and I fall asleep.

The need to pee stirs me awake. Blackness engulfs the room. I flip the lamp on to discover that Trey is missing.Of course.

Typically when I wake up in the middle of the night, he’s gone, doing who knows what around the house. Typically, it doesn’t bother me. And typically, I just go back to sleep and wake up in the morning with him here. Tonight, though, I’m not feeling typical, and I want to know what’s so important at three in the morning.

I shuffle down the quiet hall toward the living room. My feet stop when Trey’s voice comes from around the corner. His tone is low and laced with frustration.

“Not yet. She’s still recovering.” A pause. “It’s a three-hour drive and—” It goes silent as he listens to whoever is on the phone. “Maybe it wouldn’t take this long if she wasn’t hospitalized.”

This isn’t the first time I’ve heard Trey on the phone at this odd hour. However, this is the first time I’ve caught this much of the conversation. Where is a three-hour drive, and who is he talking to?

“All right. Just give me more time,” he says, then there’s a clatter. It sounds like he chucked his phone onto the coffee table. As he lets out a long, aggravated groan, I tiptoe back to bed.

A few minutes later, my bladder is empty and I’m cuddled up in bed with my teddy bear from the hospital. Trey is quiet as he slowly slips back under the covers.

“Who was that?” I ask with my back facing him.

“Shit.” He bounces backward. “I thought you were sleeping.”

I turn to face him, and it goes quiet as I wait for him to answer my question.

“Sorry, babe. I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“Who were you on the phone with?”

“Nobody important.” He said that the last three times I asked him this question.

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