Page 94 of Will Bark for Pizza
I gently pushed the door open, and was greeted by Husker. I offered him the treat Opal gave me, warding off his escape attempts. Kira was curled in the fetal position on top of the covers, her ponytail fanning the pillow. I didn’t need to ask if she’d been crying. The puffiness around her eyes gave it away.
“It’s time for s’mores,” I said, biting back the urge to ask what was wrong. Because something was definitely fucking wrong.
“I might pass tonight. You can take Husker down, though.”
“Opal will be really disappointed if you don’t join us,” I said gently, closing the door behind me.
“I can’t go out there like this, Beck,” she said, her words a panted whisper. Tears sprang to her eyes, falling down her cheeks.
Fuck.
I crawled onto the bed slowly, gathering her into my arms. She didn’t fight me, just melted into me. Her tears soaked through the cotton of my shirt.
“What’s wrong, Red?”
“Everything.”
Husker hopped onto the bed, tilting his head at the two of us. I patted the spot beside Kira, and he plopped down at the back of her legs.Good boy, Husker.
I held Kira in my arms, allowing her to cry.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” I reassured her. “But I’m here to listen if you do.”
“Why?”
Because you’re important to me, and although I don’t fully understand how that’s possible when we hardly know each other, it’s true.
“Because you deserve to be heard.”
That made her cry harder, so I held on tighter.
“It’s stupid,” Kira said.
“I doubt that.”
“It is.” She sniffled, and I handed her a tissue. “My stupid ex.”
“Well, I don’t need a lot of context to knowhe’sstupid,” I agreed.
That made Kira laugh, and the sound calmed my racing pulse. “I went no contact with him last summer. You probably heard about the wedding toast.”
“I did, but I haven’t heard about it from you.”
“I’ll spare you the details. Just know, it was as bad as Luke makes it sound.”
“Yikes.”
“Tell me about it.” She sniffled again, wiping away moisture from her cheeks as she nestled against me. It felt right to hold her, though I didn’t know what that meant.Friends, Beck. Just friends. “I broke up with him that night. Last time I saw him was the next day, after I showed up to get what little stuff I still had at his place before he did something mean like throw it all away.”
My fist balled against her back at the thought of someone disrespecting Kira so harshly, but I stayed silent. This was not my story to tell.
“I told him that night I’d never talk to him again, and I’ve stood by that. Blocked his number, his email, his SnapChat, his Venmo.”
“Venmo?”
“He’s tried everything he can to reach out, even after I told him I wanted to be left alone.”
“He didn’t listen?” I had an urge to drive to Omaha right fucking now and confront this asshole.
