Page 30 of Ruined
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“Come on, it will be fun.”
I tucked my feet under me and relaxed further into the pillows on the bed while eyeing Kenzie, who had her shoulder propped against the doorframe. She’d been standing there for the last couple of minutes, begging me to go to Logan’s birthday get-together. The only thing I wanted to do was sit and dwell over what had happened in Eli’s office.
I was pretty sure that he was as intrigued by me as I was by him; I saw it in the way he’d looked at me. With those intensely dark irises he’d pinned me with a stare so heated I’d felt my insides melt. But I’d also seen the hesitation in his eyes. There was no doubt in my mind that Eli’s heart had been wounded by someone.
That sent my mind in a completely different direction. The instant I’d left his office, I couldn’t stop wondering about Molly’s mom and the possibility of another woman in his life. I’d even gone as far as asking Kenzie if she had any information. After she’d teased me for a good couple of minutes, she disappointed me by saying she only knew that Eli had trust issues and that Molly’s mom wasn’t in the picture.
I didn’t understand why, but that bugged me. To me, it would have made more sense if the woman had been dead because I couldn’t fathom how anyone would choose to not be in their kid’s life. Especially a kid as spirited as Molly. That little girl had stolen a piece of me the very first time I’d seen her, she took even more at the diner.
The excitement had rolled off her as she described to me how much she’d loved going to the gallery with her dad, and how badly she’d wanted to create colorful images herself. It was endearing to hear that she’d rather sit and color than play on a tablet or any other device. She kinda reminded me of myself at that age. I hadn’t cared about the shows on TV or what new game was popular; I’d only wanted to paint.
“Earth to Zoe.” The laughter in Kenzie’s voice told me I’d spaced out again. I’d done a lot of that today. I chanced a look her way, my suspicion confirmed as soon as I noticed the grin on her face.
I felt heat creep up my neck and settle in my cheeks. “What?”
With a little snort-laugh, Kenzie shook her head. “Will you change your mind if I tell you Eli’s going to be there, too?”
Yes.“No.”
My friend started cackling like a crazy lady. “Oh my goodness, you are such a bad liar.” As suddenly as it came, her laughter stopped, her face deadly serious. She pushed off the frame and wandered closer. “Listen, Zoe,” she sat down on the mattress next to me. “After what you told me today, I don’t want to leave you alone.”
I sat up and hugged my friend tight. “I love you for caring so much.” As I pulled back, a grin tugged at my lips. “Just for you…I’ll go.”
Kenzie stole a glance at the open door before meeting my gaze again. “Why don’t you tell Eli what happened? He’s a cop, he can help.”
With a vehement shake of my head, I scooted away from her as if she had some disease. “You promised you’d let this go.”
“I know, it’s just—” She looked down at her hands. “Zoe, I can’t sit and do nothing when it’s clear as day you’re hurting.” Her eyes snapped to mine, unshed tears on the cusp of rolling down her cheeks. “You’re here because you didn’t feel safe in your own home.”
The truth in her words hit me like a punch to the gut. That’s exactly it; I ran away from the only place I was supposed to be safe. Kenzie was right, I had to do something, but she was wrong about involving anyone else. This battle was mine and mine alone.
“Kenzie, for the sake of our friendship I am begging you to leave well enough alone.” Reaching forward, I placed my hand on her shoulder. “Focus on this wonderful life you’re building here. I’ve been through far worse before and I made it out just fine.”
Swiping at her eyes, Kenzie patted my hand resting on her shoulder. “I get why you think you need to do everything alone, I really do, but one of these days you’ll see that accepting help isn’t a sign of weakness. It’s the exact opposite, actually.” She pushed to her feet and walked to the door where she paused to glance at me over her shoulder. “You deserve so much more than what you allow yourself to have.”
I stared at the empty doorway for the longest time, unable to get her words out of my mind. When we arrived at Logan and Harper’s place an hour later, that one sentence still rolled around in my head. Kenzie knew my history, knew I was too broken to be loved and still she thought I deserved it. I never dared to dream that someone like me could find happiness; it was so much easier to simply not feel than to risk the small piece of me that wasn’t damaged.
As we made our way to the front door, Kenzie hooked her arm through mine. “I’m sorry I pushed. I know you can get through anything, you’re the most resilient person I know.”
I wanted to bump her shoulder with mine, however being as short as I was, I ended up poking her arm. “I’m sorry I’m stubborn.”
Her eyes went wide and she pressed her hand to her chest as she pretended to be surprised. “What? You’re stubborn? I couldn’t tell.”
“Haha, very funny.”
After Kenzie unhooked her arm from mine, she draped it over my shoulder in a sideways hug. “Please promise me that you’ll come to me if things become too much. I’m here no matter what.”
“I promise.”
Before we even made it up the porch steps, the front door flew open. “About damn time! What took you guys so long?” Harper playfully asked.
In front of us, Brett shook his head and simply said, “Women.”
“Hey!” Kenzie extracted herself from me to smack her husband’s ass. “Should I tell them the real reason why we’re only arriving now?”
Brett snaked an arm around Kenzie’s waist and tugged her close. “I wouldn’t, sweetheart, unless you want them to get jealous.”
