Page 65 of Craving Francesca

“Neither of you were very nice, if we’re being honest.”

“Can you hand me the lid?” I asked, pointing past her.

She turned and handed it to me. “Don’t try and change the subject,” she warned. “It’s been over a week, and I’m sick of being in the middle.”

“I’ll deal with Myla when I feel like it.”

“Let’s not pretend that you’re going to be mad forever,” Lou said, following me out of the kitchen. “I’m just asking that you clear it up sooner rather than later because this sucks.”

“I’ll call her tonight, okay?” I asked, setting the coffee on my dresser as I pulled a pair of socks out.

“Call her on your way to work,” Lou ordered. “I want to barbecue tonight, and we can’t if you and Myla are still fighting.”

“With what barbecue?” I asked with a laugh, hopping on one foot as I tried to tug a sock on.

“With the one I’m grabbing after work. It’s not like we need anything fancy. Bas said he’d help me set it up.”

“Of course he did.”

“Don’t change the subject.”

“Why don’t you put Bas out of his misery already?”

Lou rolled her eyes. “Call Myla before work.”

“Yes, Mother,” I griped as she stormed away.

I couldn’t believe it had already been over a week since Myla and I had argued. We’d never gone without talking for so long, but for once, neither of us had been willing to extend the olive branch. Which, let’s be real, she should’ve done within days. Being concerned is one thing, but tearing my head off the minute I walked in the door was uncalled for.

Point blank, I deserved to have some privacy. I didn’t get all up inhershit. Sure, I let her know what I was thinking, but only after she’d come to me first.

“I’m leaving,” I called as I headed for the front door. “Text me if you need me to grab anything for dinner!”

“Call Myla,” Lou yelled, her voice muffled by her closed bedroom door.

As I drove to work, I hyped myself up. Things had already been uncomfortable, but I hadn’t realized how bad they would get. It took every bit of willpower I had to force myself into the office every day.

Scott wasn’t just everywhere anymore. He’d started leaving notes. Making comments in front of others as if we were still seeing each other. He’d even made some remark about my ass to a vendor we’d been doing business with for longer than I’d been at the company. It was so flagrant that the vendor had pulled me aside later and asked if I was okay. The older man had told me flat out that he’d go to HR with me to make a report if I needed him to.

I was choosing to ignore it. Bullies eventually gave up, right?

“Hello?” Myla answered, when I finally called her.

“Lou wants us to make up.”

“I’m sorry for freaking out,” she replied. “You scared the shit out of me.”

“I’m sorry for not calling,” I countered. “I was putting it off because I didn’t want to talk about it yet…or ever, really. I didn’t think you guys would call in the National Guard.”

“You could’ve talked to me about it.”

“I didn’t want to,” I repeated slowly, hoping it would sink in. “It was something that happened, and now it’s over. I just wanted to put Scott and the whole mess behind me.”

“Fine.” She paused. “What’s going on with you and Gray?”

“Nothing.”

I wasn’t lying. I hadn’t talked to Gray since that night. He hadn’t reached out, and I was so embarrassed about how I’d clung to him like a life preserver that I sure as hell wasn’t going to reach out first. He’d done enough as it was. If I called him, he’d probably assume that I was dealing with another new crisis I couldn’t handle on my own.

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