Page 111 of Road Trip
I found Abra in the kitchen washing dishes and staring out the window. I walked up behind her and touched her shoulders. She flinched away from me.
“Abra.”
“Kelly, you don’t need to be here. It’s all taken care of. I appreciate you calling it in for me.” She dried a dish and then started in on another one.
“I’m sorry I haven’t been here for you. My lieutenant—”
“It’s fine. You had shit to do. I get it. Now you can go do it.”
Ouch. She was totally right. I just didn’t know how to handle things.That wasn’t an excuse—I should have explained to her better that I had been ordered to limit my contact with her while this case was going on. That I didn’t want to put her in any danger while this guy was in the wind and have him follow me to her house. But I hadn’t told her anything. Day followed night followed day, and it had all blurred together with stress and anxiety and fear until now, when I could see the damage I’d done by doing…nothing. By being the kind of person who didn’t want to upset anyone.I’d been staying at Manny’s for the past week or so and had only texted Abra daily to see how she was doing. What an idiot. How was that to treat the woman I loved? But I wasn’t going to just walk away from her.
“Abra, can we please talk? Doll?”
She turned to face me and threw the towel down on the counter. “You really think this is the time to work out our shit? Really? My mother is dead. I’m a fucking wreck. And you want me to hear you out? Well, fuck you, Kelly! You told me before that you were the job and now I fucking get it, so you can get the fuck out! I never should have let myself rely on anyone but me. Lesson learned.” She turned back around and said, “You know where the door is.”
She was absolutely right. This was not the time. I took a deep breath and one last look at her before turning around and doing what she’d asked. I left. I grabbed a couple of things from the bedroom and left. My heart was breaking, but I’d done this. This was on me. I was going to have to figure out what to do now.
