“Hideous,” Henry vetoed from the bed. “And no, thanks. I need some downtime.”
I huffed then yanked the shirt back over my head and stomped into my closet. “When did you become such a homebody?” I called as I began searching through the rows of shirts.
“When the cockless love of my life decided she was going to jump off a bridge,” he said, appearing in the doorway.
I closed my eyes and dropped my chin to my chest. “I’m sorry.”
“Meh. I’ll get over it. You just scared the piss out of me. I’m not much in the mood for going out without you these days.” He smiled absently as he became enthralled with his reflection in the full-length mirror.
While I wasn’t exactly in the know about Henry’s schedule, I knew that it wasn’t open. He was a busy guy. Yet, somehow, he’d managed to spend every waking minute of the last week at my side. Which meant he’d witnessed me obsessing and worrying about Sam firsthand.
Which also meant he already knew the answer when he asked, “Still nothing from Sam?”
Over the previous week, I’d slowly begun the process of getting my life in order while preparing for a month-long stint at a luxury resort. (Read: crazy camp/rehab.) I wasn’t addicted to drugs, but according to the doctor Henry had forced me to see the morning after Sam’s little revelation, depression, anxiety, and exhaustion were my poison. I couldn’t say that I disagreed. I also couldn’t say that I liked it. The press was going to have a field day, but Stewart assured me that we could keep it quiet. I laughed. Nothing was ever quiet in the music industry. The rumors were already circulating.
During all of it, I had mostly been concerned with what Sam would think when he heard the news. Would he be happy? Relieved? Still angry? Would he allow me a chance to at least apologize? I felt like an ass, but I missed his wicked grin and his golden eyes.
I missed the way his hands warmed me. And especially the way they sent chills down my spine.
Honestly, I missed the calm I felt with him just standing next to me smoking a cigarette.
“Nope,” I replied curtly, taking the emerald-green tunic top he’d picked out from his hands.
“Then stop moping and call him, Levee. Put your damn pride aside and just call the man.”
“And say what? ‘Sorry I’m a basket case workaholic who can’t even remember to eat on my own’? ‘Sorry I kicked you out of my house for trying to help me’? ‘Sorry I met you on the top of a bridge while contemplating suicide The exact same bridge that your sister jumped off. You want to go on another date with me?’ Yeah. No, thanks.” I laughed even as tears built in my eyes. “Let’s not forget that, even if I could magically find the words to say, I have no one to tell them to. He hasn’t exactly been beating down my door.”
Just because I hadn’t seen Sam since he’d stormed out of my house didn’t mean I hadn’t thought about him. I’d flipped my house on end but never could find that scrap of paper he’d given me with his cell number. I’d finally given up. I’d called rePURPOSEd more times than I’d ever admit, hanging up before anyone had the chance to answer, sometimes even before the first ring.
For a person who could tell an entire story within the lyrics of a three-minute song, I couldn’t find the words to fix things with Sam. I was mortified about the way I’d acted the last time I’d seen him. Here was a guy I genuinely liked, who’d gotten a front-row seat to one of the biggest meltdowns of my life. Embarrassment couldn’t even begin to cover it.
“Okay,” he sighed. “Maybe you should lead with sex. ‘Hey, I’m sorry, but can you at least stop by for another romp in the sack, and this time, let my pal Henry touch your cock?’”
My mouth fell open in a mixture of anger and disgust, but Henry threw his hands up to stop me before I had the chance to unleash it on him.
“I’m kidding!” He lowered his voice and mumbled, “Kinda.”
I hurled a coat hanger at his head.
He dodged it.
It was very anticlimactic.
“You’re lucky I love you,” I warned, stepping into a pair of black pumps.
Henry cleared his throat. “Wedges.”
I glared at him for several seconds but eventually stepped to the side and slid the nude wedges on instead.
“In all seriousness, Levee. I’m not sure a new boyfriend is what you need right now. But I certainly am not going to stop you. Reach out to him. Give him the chance to tell you to fuck off.”
I flinched. That’s exactly what I was afraid of.
“Orrrr…more than likely so he can apologize too. Have you stopped to think he might be feeling just as weird about the way things went down as you are? So what if he hasn’t popped up on your doorstep like some lost puppy. That doesn’t mean he isn’t wishing you’d show up on his.”
God, I hated when Henry made sense.
But what I really hated was knowing he made sense and being too afraid to listen to his advice.
“I have to go. I’m going to be late.” I scrunched my hair one last time in the mirror before heading to the door.
“You’re being ridiculous!” he called after me.
“See you in two hours. I’ll bring back dinner,” I replied as if he hadn’t spoken.
“No sushi!”
“Then no dinner!”
I smiled when I heard him curse.
When I got to the bottom of the stairs, I found Devon waiting for me with a wide smile.
“You look beautiful,” he said warmly.
“Thanks.”
“You know he’s just going to ask me to get him something besides sushi, right?” Devon said, fishing his phone from his pocket. He turned it to face me and lifted his fingers in the air to count down from three. No sooner had he tucked the last digit away than a text appeared on his phone.
Henry: Can you bring me back something to eat that doesn’t taste like it washed up on a radioactive beach?
I burst out laughing. “What does that even mean?” I asked as he shoved the phone back in his pocket, ignoring the text completely.
“I’ve learned not to ask with Henry,” he replied, using a hand at the small of my back to usher me out the door.
“Levee!” Morgan squealed when I walked into her hospital room.
“Hey there, pretty girl. How have you been?” I replied as my heart wrenched in my chest.
Little wires still dangled off her body, but her nasal cannula was gone and her color seemed somewhat better.
Her mother stood from a chair tucked away in the corner and extended her hand for a shake. I hugged her instead.
“What are you doing here?” she asked.
“I was thinking about Miss Morgan tonight.” I squeezed her blanket-covered foot. “So I decided to come up here and see how things were going before I head out of town for a while.”
“Wow. That’s so sweet of you. We weren’t expecting to see you again. I’m glad you came though. Morgan’s been wanting to say thank you for all of the Henry Alexander stuff you left at the nurses’ station.”
“Aww. That was no problem. Henry was happy to do it. I promise I’ll drag him up here one day. He’s not big on hospitals, something about the nurses not letting him eat all the red Jell-O,” I teased.
Morgan rewarded me with a giggle. “I made Henry a thank-you card. Could you…maybe…give it to him for me?” she asked nervously.
“Of course! He’ll love it.”
I laughed as she all but clapped in celebration.
“Mom! Get the card!”
“On it!” Her mom, whose name my frazzled brain couldn’t remember, smiled as she moved to the other side of the bed. “Where’d you put it, sweetheart?”
“I put it between two books on my shelf to keep the glitter from falling out.”
“Ohhhhh, Henry loves glitter,” I exaggerated with wide eyes.
That time, she actually did clap.
Her mother laughed as she walked to the other side of the room. My eyes found her destination even before she did.
A familiar hollowed-out guitar filled with books leaned against the wall.
“Where… How…” I gasped as my heart pounded in my chest. “Is that a guitar bookshelf?” I asked as if it were an oasis in the desert that only I could see.