Page 89 of Crash
He wasn’t wrong.
“I need to call him or FaceTime him or something.” She worried her lower lip. “Have you seen Ruth?”
“She’s been in and out around the town. Did something happen between you two?”
Quynh realized with dismay she still hadn’t told Griffin about her encounter with Ruth.
“I need to tell you something…”
A frown marred his handsome expression as he gestured for her to continue. Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she launched into the story of how she met with Ruth at the cafe. How the encounter left her reeling as she grappled with her emotions. One of the catalysts that prompted her departure from Willowbrook.
“I really need to call him…” her voice trailed off. There was a churning in her gut at how she had abandoned her last remaining family. Even if Ruth had been awful to her, she was still family. She was ashamed to admit she was no better than her past.
Why do I always run away from my problems?
“I think he’d like that,” he agreed softly. “We’ll dealwith Ruth later.” The grim determination was set in his features. She was grateful to have someone in her corner.
She stood up from the table and grabbed their empty plates. She started doing the dishes and shushed Griffin when he protested.
“You cooked, I’ll do the dishes,” she stated matter-of-factly. “That’s the deal. Got it?”
Griffin smirked at her before grabbing the finger she pointed at his chest in his large hand. He pulled her in close and kissed her on the nose. “You got it, boss.”
She smacked his chest. He backed away, moving back into the living room. She heard the sounds of the television turning on. It was getting late. She was exhausted, but the normalcy of the evening made her feel at peace.
While she soaped up the dishes and rinsed them, she ran over their conversation through her mind. They were good together. Fire and ice. Sunshine and her thundercloud. She could spend the rest of her life at Griffin’s side and be happy.
So, what do I have to worry about?
Everything else they could figure out together. People changed careers all the time. She didn’t need to stay in a career that made her miserable.
She knew it was fear holding her back from making the leap of faith. Fear of failure.
She spent so much money putting herself through school and had all the student loans to show for it. If shechanged careers now, all the time and money spent would be wasted.
But what did it matter if I was miserable at the end of the day?
She could throw caution to the wind and move to a small town to be with a man she hardly knew. Wait for a job at the health clinic to open up.
The prospect of returning to work at a soulless health corporation made her break out in a sweat. She washed the dishes a little too roughly and stacked them in the dish rack to dry. Over her shoulder, she caught sight of Griffin reclining on the couch with his feet propped up on the coffee table. Pickles disappeared back into the bedroom after she left his wet food for him but now was lying on Griffin’s lap.
She smiled at the sight of the two of them together. Griffin was absentmindedly petting Pickles as they watched Netflix.
She could have this if she wanted it.
Suddenly, she realized what she wanted. No, what sheneededmore than anything.
She needed Griffin.
It didn’t mean she needed to move to Willowbrook right away. They’d still have to talk about the details.
There was still the matter of wrapping things up at the apartment. Her lease isn’t up for a couple of months.But the lease was already paid for. It didn’t really matter in the grand scheme of things.
She still needed to go back to the office to grab her belongings since everything was considered evidence. The last time she went to the police station to give her statement, she was informed that they would need to go through everything before she could take them home. She received a call earlier in the week to let her know the contents of her office were cleared to be picked up.
She delayed going down to the police station. The thought made her nervous. The last time she was there, she was in complete shock. She gave a statement about what little she knew about her boss. It made her more aware of how she barely knew the man at all. She heard little news about the case, but since she wasn’t a suspect, they didn’t bother to keep her updated.
Aside from a few loose ends, there really wasn’t anything else keeping her in the city. The noise and the smells of the city no longer appealed to her, having experienced peace, quiet, and fresh air. She missed seeing the sun rise over the lake every morning. She missed the quiet of the countryside and taking Rover for walks around the lake.
