Page 38 of Flyboy
"We can work it out later. For now, you deal with dinner and I'll unpack more boxes." She scooted past him before he could argue.
By the time he left the utility room, she was kneeling on the kitchen floor, her head in a box. He couldn't decide if she was ignoring him on purpose or if she was that engrossed in putting plates away in the cupboard, she didn't know he was there.
And it wasn't until he was in his Jeep, driving toward the center of town that he realized they hadn't decided where he would sleep.
8
Alyssa stumbled into the house, dropping her bag and tripping over her shoes as she kicked them off.
God, she was tired. She could barely keep her eyes open and in spite of not eating for at least six hours, she didn't have the energy to find something to ease the ache in her belly.
"Hey! You're late!" Penny stepped out of the dining room into the hall. Alyssa didn't need the crossed arms and scowl to tell her she'd upset her sister. Again.
She couldn't muster up a smile before Penny's greeting; the look aimed at her definitely didn't help. Sighing, she said, "Hey, hi. Yeah, they were short staffed."
The hospital had been short all week. She'd already been rostered to do a double shift Sunday through Monday but then she'd gotten a call on Tuesday while working her actual job at Mercy-Life from Rosie, the director of nursing at Sunnyville General, begging her to pick up as many shifts as she could the rest of the week.
Alyssa would be stupid to turn down all that extra income while it was on offer, and she knew with Mrs. Alverez now living under the same roof Penny would be okay, so she agreed to pick up a shift every night she wasn't on at Mercy-Life.
Of course, those shifts always went long and she ended up doing another double shift yesterday…Saturday? Today?
Jeez, she had no idea what day it was. Was it even daytime? Had the sun been out on the drive home? She couldn't recall.
"You promised you'd be home today so we could cook dinnertogether," Penny accused.
"Ah…" She rubbed a hand over her face.Fuck. She was numb. Her brain couldn't hold on to any thought for longer than half a second, every bone ached, and her eyes were gritty from lack of sleep. The few hours she'd snatched in the staff room had hardly put a dent in her sleep-deprived life. "What dinner?"
Penny gave her a look Alyssa felt in her gut. Dammit. She'd fucked up big with her sister this time.
They'd been arguing all week. Well, whenever they happened to be in the house at the same time anyway. She didn't want to fight with Penny, except at the moment it seemed the only thing they were capable of. Then again, they only fought over how much Alyssa was working and no matter how she explained it, Penny just couldn't—or wouldn't—understand she was taking all these extra shifts so they had a financial buffer.
Penny's gaze moved to something behind her and Alyssa knew without looking who her sister had focused on.
Jack.
Something—someone—else she didn't have the energy to deal with right now. She'd been avoiding him. She was pretty sure they were sleeping in the same bed although they were never in it at the same time. Their first night in the house, Rosie had called and asked her to come in to cover a nurse who had gone home sick. And as much as it chafed to admit she was a coward, she'd taken the overnight shift to avoid sorting out where Jack would sleep.
Every other night this week she'd worked at the hospital or one of them had been at Mercy-Life, so they hadn't made it into her bed together. Yet.
Tonight would be different. Her next shift started at seven tomorrow morning and if she didn't get some decent sleep, in a bed, between now and then, she'd be a danger to her co-workers as well as any patients they had to transport.
"Pen, why don't you help Mrs. Alverez get the rest of the food on the table." Jack's voice rumbled so close to Alyssa's ear he had to be right behind her. "We'll be in to eat in a minute."
"Fine. But maybesheshouldn't bother."
Alyssa flinched at the hostility lacing Penny's words and as much as she wanted to shut her eyes and ignore her sister's anger, she knew she deserved every slashing word and more.
After Penny disappeared from sight, she lowered her head on a deep sigh and muttered, "Fuck me."
"Yeah, you really pissed her off. This time."
She turned to Jack. The look on his face told her it wasn't only her sister she was pissing off. "Jack."
He held up a hand. "Don't. Go upstairs and get changed if you think you can do it without falling on your face; if not, head straight to the table and try to stay awake long enough to eat, and appreciate what Penny made. She's put a lot of effort into this meal, thethirdfamily meal you've missed since we moved in."
"Oh, come on, I didn't miss Monday's, I had to rush out to work. And the night we moved in doesn't count."
"Okay, I'll give you Saturday but only because she didn't make it to the table either. Between the two of you hiding, her in her room, you at work, I may as well live here alone."
