Page 66 of Midnight Between Us
Her eyes scan the words.
No gasp.No scoff.Just a single breath held tight in her chest.When she exhales, it’s quiet—but everything feels different now.
The air in the room pulls inward.There’s subtle drag, like the moment before a storm hits or the silence between heartbeats when you’re waiting for the worst.
She sets the note down as gently as she picks it up.Almost like it might explode.
“Somehow,” she says quietly, “if you got back with him, I would’ve thought you’d tell me.”
“Back?”I blink.
“You’re living with Keir.I heard that last night.”She taps the note as if it’s confirmation of everything she didn’t want to believe.
There it is.The thing she’s really here for.
And yeah, that’s fair.
I laugh.Not a cute, self-deprecating giggle.No.I bark it out—loud, unhinged, and probably a little scary.Yep, I’m losing my shit.
“You think I’m here by choice?”
She shrugs.“I don’t know what to think anymore, Simone.You used to be so different and now ...I see it.Those times when we’re sharing stories and you freeze because ...you can’t open up to us.”
Del is right, but also wrong.“I share as much as I can.”I honestly do, but it feels so isolating though.They know most of the good things about me.Doctor, surgeon, trauma, blah, blah, blah ...I work too much.That’s not all, but sometimes I feel like the rest doesn’t exist since this life is temporary and I don’t know if they’ll care about me once I pack my bags and leave.That last part shouldn’t make my chest ache as much as it does.
Del scoffs and says, “I’ve missed you.”
And I—God, I don’t realize how badly I need to hear that until she says it.I turn back to the kettle, hiding the sting in my eyes.
“I missed you too.”
I slide her a mug without asking how she takes it.I already know.Chamomile with honey, no lemon.It’s the same blend I would’ve made the day after the coffee shop caught fire.
“Any updates about the fire?”I ask after a sip of my tea.
She scoffs again.“There you go, changing the subject.Taking away the focus from you and whatever is making you behave like ...you belong, you know.”
That last part knocks something loose.I don’t know what to say.This town has never wanted me.I was the thing that ruined Nina.She could have been saved, but not after me.
“Sure, I belong, until they don’t need me,” I say out loud.
“We’re not talking about the town.Though, if you gave them a chance ...they’re not exactly what they used to be.The new preacher has taught them the whole ‘love thy neighbor’ thing.No more ‘judging everyone’.”
I scoff.“No one can judge like him ...well, my grandmother can, but that’s a different story.”I take a deep breath.“So how did you figure out I was here?”
“Cassian and Mal were talking.”She shrugs.“They were at my house.Mom was cooking, singing, and dancing, so they believed she had earbuds.Stupid men, they think they’re so smart.”
This would be a great moment to ask Cassian and Mal, huh?It’s like sometimes I see her flirting with both, and others you see the two men too close to each other.I don’t understand what’s going on among the three of them, and I wish she would tell me, but if I ask, then I’ll have to reciprocate, and that’s a no.I won’t discuss Keir with anyone.
“Your mom could be a spy,” I state.“Pretend she only speaks Spanish and just sweep through an entire house looking for a bathroom because she couldn’t follow instructions.”
“Please don’t give her ideas.”She gives me a warning look.
“What else did she find out?”
“Something about Keir’s company letting him go and a clearing of the office—his apartment.”She shrugs.“Then that once he can come out ofyourhouse, he’ll probably work for Old Birchwood Timber.”
“So ...enough for you to conclude that if Keir is hiding in my house?—”
