Page 54 of Games We Play
Janet waited until they heard the bedroom door slam before saying anything to Leah. “Further proof that she’s still a teenager.”
Leah looked to her mother. “Do you want me to go talk to her?”
“To tell her what? That she can have her birth certificate? It’s not happening. I’ll put in the requests for the copies, but what else can we do?”
“It’s gonna come out eventually.”
Janet held up her hands in defeat. “I need to finish the dishes. If you want to talk to her, knock yourself out, but I’ll be damned if your dad comes home to more screaming.”
“Maybe I’ll let her cool down a bit.”
“You do whatever.” Janet walked toward the kitchen. “I need a drink.”
Leah went up to her room, hesitating outside of Karlie’s door. Music loud enough to drown out a teen’s anger, but not loud enough to piss off Mom eked through the humble cracks. Leah decided to go on to her own room and try to calm down before talking to her sister.
By the time she was in her dark room, curled up on her bed with her phone in her hand, she realized she was almost too tired to function.
No, not tired.Overwhelmed.That was always a good word to describe the shit plaguing Leah’s head as she rolled over and stared at the same curtains she had since she was a little girl. They were worn, faded, and probably hadn’t been washed in years, but they were comforting, weren’t they? Two pastel-pink strips of cloth that either blocked out the sunlight or let it in. Whenever Leah couldn’t sleep as a little kid, she would stare at those curtains and count the holes that grew in them every year. Later, she got a phone and stared at that instead.
This room wouldn’t be the same without those curtains.Leah picked up her phone and wished she had some messages waiting for her. They would give her something to do. Something to take her mind off the shit infesting her subconscious.
She called Sloan, not expecting her to pick up.
Why am I calling her? What do I say?Leah almost hung up and texted her instead.“Whoops,”she would say.“I hit the wrong button. Sorry.”Before she could hang up, she heard the kind of familiar voice that soothed her nerves instead of lighting them on fire.
“What is it, hon?”
Hon?Hon?That was unexpected. Leah was used to the sexy pet names when they were in bed, but a rogue “hon” on the phone was not something she ever thought she’d hear.
“Hi…” Leah propped herself up on her elbow. “I’m not interrupting anything, am I?”
“No. If you were, I’d send you to voicemail.”
That’s more like it.Leah had been close to wondering if Sloan had been swapped for a changeling. “Well, I meant to text you instead, but thought it might be nice to hear your voice…”
“Has something happened?”
Leah swallowed her pride. She might as well say what she had been thinking. “I had a rough day.” She traced a circle in her bedspread.
“You thought to call me? That’s rich. What can I do for you?”
“Well… you know… wished I could talk to you and see you, that’s all. Is that weird?”
Leah worried that the pause meant Sloan was hiding her laughter on the other end of the line. “Not weird at all. I’ve been thinking about you a lot today as well. You’ve been on my mind ever since you left my side on Sunday.”
Leah almost blushed into her pillow. When she left Chicago, it was with Sloan standing in the waiting area and texting her that they would see each other again soon. Sean had escorted Sloan away from the security checkpoint while Leah was treated to the express line. A kiss had blown in her direction. Raunchy texts awaited her when she landed a few hours later.
“I’ve been thinking about you a lot, too. When will you be in Portland again?”
“Not soon enough. I’ll be swinging by Seattle soon. I might have a driver take you up there to meet me.”
“Really?”
“Of course, kitten. I want to see you, don’t I? I’m assuming you want to see me too.”
Leah wiped something from her cheek. “I bought a book today about our kind of relationship. I want to really understand it, so maybe… maybe we can make a long-term go of this. After what happened Saturday night, I realized that I need to understand more things on my end as well.”
Sloan chuckled. “Are you missing my presence, or is there something you miss more?”
