Chapter Thirty-Three
Blake
H olding my hand in hers, Lela tells me for the hundredth time tonight, “Gracias, Blake. Muchas gracias…”
“Lela,” I squeeze her frail hands back and try to comfort her in Spanish, “you don’t have to thank me. And everything is going to be okay.”
“Si, si,” she agrees while wiping her eyes. “Gracias a ti.”
Because of you, she continues to insist.
Finally, after letting her fuss over my dad, the employees who helped in surgery, and me, Jorge leads his wife outside with a promise to pick Chispa up tomorrow after a night of observation.
And once that front lobby door closes, the last time for the night, the silent tears I’ve been holding onto slip out.
I have full faith in my dad to keep any promise he makes, but when it comes to things like this, you just never know.
Wiping a finger under my eyes, I’m about to turn back to finish the nightly duties when an arm wraps around my shoulders.
Even before I look up, I know it’s my dad. With my arm around his waist and my head on his chest, I let the nostalgic feeling of being a girl in her dad’s arms settle around me for a long minute.
“I told you not to come tonight,” he lightly scolds.
Sniffing, I nod and say, “I know. Thank you for helping Chispa .”
Looking down at me, he gives me a soft paternal smile. “I did my job, honey. You helped Lela and Jorge, in more ways than financially. I’m very proud of you.”
My eyes water again, but it’s partly because of the lingering guilt in my stomach that doubles at hearing his words.
Instead of meeting his eye, I offer him a small smile and tell him I’m going to finish cleaning up the front area.
As I’m closing out of the computer and double checking the appointments for Olivia in the morning, the last two names I expect to see pop up on my phone.
Margo and Meera calling… flashes by.
“Hello?” I answer confused, and slightly concerned, since it’s almost midnight for them.
“You weren’t texting us back,” Margo demands. Rolling my eyes, I sit back and catch the sight of Adrian coming around the corner. A happy expression settles across his face as he walks toward me and plops his butt on the edge of the desk, like he always does when he comes to talk to me.
Looking at him but talking to my friends, I explain why I came to the clinic and ended up working the evening shift.
“See,” Meera insists. “I told you she was busy. We saw her location.” I laugh, but I check theirs just as often out of boredom.
“She doesn’t work Wednesdays. Excuse me for being worried,” Margo argues.
“Of me being at my dad’s vet clinic?” I teasingly ask.
“I don’t know,” she dramatically states. “I don’t like being ignored.”
“Don’t we know it,” Meera mutters. But before Margo can snark back, she reminds our friend, “We called for a reason, and Blake probably hasn’t read our texts yet.”
“I have not,” I agree.
Back on track, Margo asks, “I know it’s kind of last minute, but how do you feel about getting an Airbnb this weekend?”
My brows furrow as I ask, “I thought we were just going to stay at one of our houses?”
“We can, if that’s what you want,” Meera insists.
“And we obviously vote yours.” Mine is either the least crowded, or the least strict between us three.
“It’s just so nice having privacy, and as excited as I am to be home for a week, I’m not ready to be around my entire family.” Margo is the oldest of five, so her house can be a bit crazy at times.
“Yeah,” Meera agrees. “We were just thinking that it would be nice to have some actual alone time together. I have some… things to catch you up on.” Her voice squeaks at the end which has my mouth dropping.
“Bitch,” Margo practically groans.
Meera laughs but continues, “Things I definitely don’t want my parents, or brothers, ever finding out.” She’s the youngest of three, and her entire family acts as if she’s basically the first daughter of the country.
I see where they’re coming from—and it makes sense. Maybe I’d even feel the same if I were in their places. Yet it’s one of those times when I have a stark reminder that I’m not in the same place in my life as them.
They talk over each other for a few minutes until Meera cuts in. “What do you think, Blake? I can look right now.”
Shaking my head, even though the only person who can see me is Adrian. “I can look. You should be asleep. I’m fine getting an Airbnb, if that’s what you guys want.”
“It is,” Margo insists.
As she and Meera continue making plans for the week they’re home, Adrian taps on my shoulder. Looking up at him, he gestures to my phone. I mute it, looking up at him expectantly.
“Are you going somewhere?”
“What? Oh, the Airbnb. No. They just want somewhere to have a sleepover this weekend.”
He nods before scrunching his nose and biting his lip for a quick second. “You can use my apartment.”
“What?” I ask, stunned and certain I didn’t hear him correctly.
“Don’t waste the money on a bunch of bullshit fees.” His sudden—and random—hostility toward Airbnb makes me laugh. It’s always the most random things that irk him. “I’m going to visit my parents this weekend and make up the hours next week.”
He mentioned that when he drove me home the other day.
“I… I can’t stay at your apartment…?”
“But you’ll stay in some random person’s apartment? What if it’s some weirdo who puts cameras up in the bathroom?”
It takes everything in me not to burst out laughing at this ridiculous conversation.
“What if you are the weirdo with cameras in the bathroom?” I argue because what do I even say to him right now?
With a cheeky grin, he says, “At least you don’t have to worry about me spying on your friends.”
My eyes narrow on him, and my lips purse to hold the smile at bay. “You… are something else.”
He just shrugs and chuckles under his breath. With a shake of my head, I take my phone off mute, interrupting whatever they’re talking about now. “I have an idea of somewhere we can stay.”
“Where?” Margo asks, excitement clear in her voice.
Glancing at Adrian one more time, he just nods in confirmation. “Uhm. My friend is going out of town this weekend and said we can use his place.”
It’s quiet on the line for one second too long, so I know the bomb is dropping before it explodes. “Your friend ?” Margo demands, and I’m positive Adrian can hear her clearly now.
“By friend…” Meera softly prompts.
“You mean the hot guy from the grocery store?” Margo finishes.
Closing my eyes to actually avoid seeing the smug look on Adrian’s face, I don’t answer the question. “Do you want to stay there for free or not?”
“Obviously. And we will talk about it there.”
“Sounds horrible,” I chime in and finally look at Adrian. He quietly laughs, looking immensely satisfied by the fact I’ll be staying at his place, safe from being stalked by anyone but him.
After working out a few more things, like how Meera is flying in early tomorrow to celebrate Diwali with her family, we hang up. I took the evening off to spend it with them; something I’ve done more than once since we became friends. Unfortunately, Margo has a midterm she can’t miss on Friday morning, so we plan to pick her up from the airport.
Before he can say anything, I ask, “What is your problem with Airbnb?”
That makes him laugh as he stands at his full height. We're both done for the evening, and my dad’s in the back, probably going over Chispa’s overnight care.
“I’m saving you money, and possibly your life.”
“I’ll agree with the first half,” I tease and shake my head.
He reaches down to grab the tote bag I brought with me and waits for me to stand with my crutches before striding toward the door. Still smirking and shaking my head, I follow him to my car, feeling almost giddy at getting to see my friends, and the change of events for the weekend.