Page 162 of Ruin Me Gently

“Because Molly’s been taking care of her,” he said quietly.

“Molly?” I repeated, frowning. “What do you mean,Molly?How?”

“She’s been stopping by your place, said she had a spare key. I asked her to check in on things. Including Katniss.”

“You asked her? When? How did you even—?”

“The day after…” he trailed off, his gaze softening. “I noticed your phone. You had fourteen missed calls from her.”

That stopped me in my tracks. “What?”

“When it rang again, I picked it up.”

I twisted my hands together, imagining Molly’s reaction to hearing his voice instead of mine.

“She was confused,” he said, running a hand through his curls. “I told her I was with you, and before I could explain a thing, she screamed at me, called me a sketchy bastard and demanded to know what the hell I’d done with you.”

I winced, biting back a nervous laugh.

“She was worried sick—convinced I’d kidnapped you and was seconds away from calling the cops.”

“What did you say to her?” I asked.

He sighed, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “I told her what happened. Told her you were safe. Here. Recovering. She…” he trailed off again, wincing.

“She chewed you out, didn’t she?”

“She let me have it. Said I had no right keeping her in the dark. Which I completely understood.”

Guilt crept in at that. I should’ve known she would be worried. I should’ve thought about that sooner too. God, I was an asshole.

“But she’s been taking care of everything,” he added, voice softer. “She’s been looking after Katniss every day, feeding her and cleaning her tank.”

A tidal wave of relief crashed through me, washing away the last of the panic still clinging to my skin.

“So, she’s okay?”

“She’s fine, everything’s fine. Molly’s been texting you updates,” he added. “Your phone’s been going off. A lot. It’s in there,” he said, nodding toward the nightstand. “It’s been on charge.”

I practically launched myself across the room, yanking the drawer open and snatching up my phone. The screen lit up instantly. Dozens of missed messages, mostly from Molly, and a few spam ones from takeouts and Uber offers.

There were so many pictures. At least fifty of them.

One of her crouching next to the vivarium, giving the camera a dramatic thumbs up. Another of her holding a very unimpressed Katniss up to her face, grinning like she’d won the lottery. Then there were the texts.

Molly

We’re bonding. She likes me. NO! SHE LOVES ME!

Molly

We’re practically besties now. Sorry, Lils, I’m the new fav. ??

Molly

Hope you’re doing okay. Love you ??

“See? I’m looking after you, she’s looking after Katniss. We’ve got you covered.”

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