“Why make this hard, Daph?”
“I always make it hard. You know that.”
I struggle to not roll my eyes. “Whether that’s true or not, it doesn’t change the fact that I’m busy tonight. And I will be tomorrow and the next night too, if you’re wondering,” I add.
“So it’s true,” she chirps. “You know our friends are saying she’s not one of us. That she might even be a waitress.”
“Excuse me?” I bellow. “What the fuck does that even mean and why in the hell is it any of your business?”
She laughs in the phone. “That says it all.”
“Don’t you talk about her like that. Like she’s beneath you somehow.”
“Defensive, are we? Wow. She must be a helluva lay to get the playboy Barrett Landry wound around her finger.”
“Shut your fucking mouth, Daphne.”
Her laugher gets louder, causing my blood to nearly boil.
“That’s no way to talk to a lady,” she snaps.
“It’s a good thing I’m not talking to a lady then, isn’t it?”
“Touché.”
I hear her dog yap in the background, her doorbell rings. She laughs again.
“I gotta go, Barrett. I have company.”
“Hey, Daph?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t call me again.”
I end the call and toss my phone on the bed. It sinks into my blankets and I wish I could sink in with it.
There’s a raw spot in my gut that I can’t shake. Daphne is a cocktail waiting to explode. She always has been, it’s a part of her DNA. Normally it doesn’t matter, but now that Alison is woven in this situation, it’s unnerving.
I’ve always handled Daphne with some charm and cock; I can’t do that now. Moreover, withholding both from her will only direct any reaction to Alison, the one person I don’t want to feel the crazy.
Picking my phone back up, Alison answers in a few rings.
“Hello?” she asks sleepily.
“Hey, you.”
“Barrett,” she says. I hear sheets and blankets being moved around. “Are you okay? It’s late.”
I press my fingertips to my forehead. “Did I wake you? Or Huxley? I’m sorry. Shit.”
“No, no, it’s fine,” she says quickly. “You just scared me, that’s all.”
Blowing out a breath, I imagine what she looks like in bed with no makeup and some sleepy eyes. “I miss you.”
“Ah, Barrett. I miss you too.”
“How was your day? Did you get your paper done?”
“No,” she groans. “I have another few pages left. I had to work a few extra hours at Hillary’s and then Huxley’s homework was out of control. You should see the amount of stuff he has to do every night. It’s incredible.”
A vision of me sitting at a table with Hux going over science problems and history questions flashes through my brain. I can see it so clearly.
“Is he doing well though? Does he need a tutor or anything?” I volunteer.
“No. He’s as sharp as a tack. It’s just so much work that it cuts into the time I have for mine. It’s the life of a single mother,” she says easily. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
“If you need any help with any of it—”
“We’re fine, Barrett.”
I hear the warning in her voice, to not step too close. I hate it. I hate having a barrier between us, being told to keep any sort of distance. I want to help her, take the loads off that I can remove without any problem.
“I know you’re fine, Alison. I’m just saying that I’m willing to help.”
“I know and it’s appreciated. But it’s important to me that I do this on my own.”
“Do what on your own? Life?” I gruff.
“No,” she sighs. “Not exactly.”
“You do realize I’m not trying to take anything from you right?” I ask. “I want to . . . add to it. Make it better, easier if I can.”
She doesn’t respond for a long while and I give her time to wrangle whatever it is she’s thinking. I wish I were there with her, wrapping her up in my arms. It would make so many things so much better.
“I don’t mean to push . . .” I say, letting my words fall.
“You aren’t pushing, Barrett. I love that you care.”
“Of course I care,” I snort.
“I just don’t need a knight in shining armor. In my world,” she says, pausing, “I am the knight. I’m the one that saves the day.”
“I can respect that. Just let me be the stallion you ride in on.”
She laughs, a free, flowy kind of laugh that makes me join in. “Barrett Landry, you’re impossible.”
Relaxing back on my pillows, I close my eyes and listen to the sound of her voice. It’s what I needed, my antidote.
“I do need to get back to bed,” she yawns. “I have the breakfast shift in the morning, so my mom will be here super early to get Hux up and to her house to get ready for school.”
“Okay. But I wish I were there with you.”
“I do too,” she whispers.
“I can only imagine what it’s like to wake up next to you.”
Her giggle races through the phone. “We wouldn’t be able to get out of bed.”