Page 17 of Infinite as They Come
She just shot me a smile, hands still pulling at my hair as she sung her little heart out. These were the moments I loved. When I got her alone, just us being together.
My phone vibrated in my pocket suddenly and I huffed. “Christ, if it’s that number again…” I mumbled. “Holly, I need you to yell at them if it’s the same number.”
She laughed, all soft and pretty. “I am notyellingat them. It might be someone calling to buy your art. Ooh, how exciting.”
“Just yell.”
“I can’t yell at a random person.”
“Be a good girl and do it for me. If you love me, you’ll do it. My phone’s in my pocket.”
She tsked and pushed her hand into my pants pocket, pulling out my phone. “I do love you. I love you quite a lot.”
“Then you’ll yell at them.”
“Hello?” Holly answered, voice soft and sweet as she turned the radio down.
“No, you’re supposed to scream.”
She gave my arm a playful slap. “Hello?” she said again.
There was silence on the other side. Again. My eyes rolled. “Just hang up. Don’t worry about it.”
“Someone’s there,” Holly said. “I can hear noise. Like a TV or something. Hello? Do you want to speak to Sawyer?”
“Is he there?” a voice finally came through. “Sawyer Westbrook? Is this really his number?”
It was a voice that made my heart race, because it was a voice I’d recognize anywhere, even in a crowded room with a million others talking, even if it was far away, even if I hadn’t heard it in years. Everything went all foggy and fuzzy after that, like I was in some dream where I was frozen and every last one of my limbs were too heavy to move. None of it was registering fully. The moment and her voice and everything. My heart was hearing it before my ears, waiting for further confirmation, waiting to see if it really was her.
“Um, yeah,” Holly said, and I could see her head turning to face me in the corner of my eye. “May I ask who’s calling?”
“This is his mother.”
Chapter 5
Holly
Sawyer hit the brakes hard, the tires screeching so loud it almost made me wince. His eyes darted over to mine, then to the phone, then back ahead of him, and then back to me. There was this zoned out, blank look on his face, like the words weren’t sinking in, but I could see how tight he was gripping the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white. Someone honked their horn behind us, and I wondered if Sawyer had heard it at all.
My lips parted, grasping his phone with a trembling hand. “I—” was all I got out before the line went dead. My brows furrowed as I looked down at the phone, my thumb skimming over the screen. There was suddenly too much silence in the car. Awkward, aching silence that I felt the need to fill with something.
“Was that… She… Let’s pull over…” I was scrambling, trying to come up with a sentence or just a single word that made sense.
There was another honk, then another, then one more, and that did it. Eyes shutting together tightly for a split second, Sawyer let out a breath that sounded borderline painful as he pulled over to the side to park the truck.
He stilled, hands there on the wheel, his chest heaving that little bit. We stayed quiet for what felt like a good five minutes, the sound of cars going past us the only evidence of any other life around us, my hand gripping his phone tight. I realized then how clammy my hands felt, all coated with sweat.
It was like he wasn’t even on the same planet as me anymore. Eyes aheadof him, jaw clenched, fingers so tight on the steering wheel it was like they were superglued there. My first instinct was to comfort him, to make it better, to try and help, and then the words were spilling out of my mouth before I could control them.
“Everything will be okay,” I whispered. “You can call her when you’re ready. Or not. If you’re not ready, you don’t have to. You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, but if you do, I’ll be there. I promise I will and you won’t have to deal with this alone, Sawyer, I won’t—”
“Jesus Christ, Holly, I don’t need you to be my fucking therapist right now!” he bit out, eyes a little narrowed, but they softened literally a second later, his hands tugging his belt off and then mine before he grasped my hand. He pulled me to him, my body right up against his chest, his lips pressing kisses to the top of my head. “I’m sorry, princess. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap at you. I’m sorry. I just wasn’t expecting that. To hear her voice. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I said, pulling away that little bit so I could look at him. There was something in his eyes that I had never seen before. Too much pain, too much worry, and I didn’t know how to fix it. It made my heart hurt as I rested my hands on his shoulders. “I understand, Sawyer. It’s okay.”
“I don’t ever wanna talk to you the way I used to,” he said, pulling in a ragged breath. “I don’t wanna be that guy. You deserve better than that. I’m sorry, Holly.”
“Hey.” I pressed my lips to his, soft and slow. “It’s okay. I promise it’s okay. Tell me what you want. What you need me to do. Tell me, Sawyer. I’mhere.”
