Chapter 19
Moving Day
Sean and Jack didn’t just haul all my things into the apartment; they stayed to help me unpack, too. The last thing that needed to be taken care of was putting the washed sheets on my new European pillowtop mattress I’d splurged on, but they were still tumbling in the dryer.
“You guys have gone above and beyond today,” I told them. “I can’t thank you enough.”
“Typically, gratitude for helping someone move comes with pizza,” Sean said, flopping onto my new gray couch.
It had reminded me of the one in Jack’s apartment, and I couldn’t resist buying it.
Sleeping on it the night before hadn’t been nearly as comfortable as the night I’d stayed at Jack’s, but I had a feeling that was because Jack wasn’t there.
“You’re hungry?” I asked, eyes widening. “Of course, you’re hungry. We’ve been at this all day.” I pulled out my phone to search for nearby delivery options.
“Are you sure you want us sticking around?” Jack asked. “Sean never needs alone time, but if you need some time to decompress, I’ll haul him out of here.”
I looked up from my phone. “I don’t want you to go.” I glanced at the blanket folded on the back of the couch. “Truth is, I didn’t sleep well last night. I never do the first few nights in a new place.”
“Did you have trouble when you stayed the night with Jack?” Sean asked.
“Oh, no.” I had trouble looking at Jack and focused on the delivery options instead. “I fell asleep quickly that night.”
“That wasn’t a surprise.” Jack perched on the edge of the matching gray armchair. “You were exhausted. A lot had happened that night.”
Neil’s name popped up on my phone, replacing all the search results. My ringtone went off, giving it away. I hit the red decline button, swallowing.
“He still trying to talk?” Sean asked.
“Yeah,” I admitted. I still wasn’t ready for it and had declined multiple calls that afternoon. I hadn’t listened to the voicemails yet. “What do you all like on your pizza?”
“Meat,” Sean said. “But that sicko has a thing for pineapple.” He pointed toward Jack, who shrugged, unoffended.
“It’s not for everyone.”
“I like fruit,” I admitted, sharing a smile with Jack.
I added a Hawaiian to the order, as well as a plain cheese and the meat lovers for Sean.
When I also ordered cheesy bread and extra dipping sauce, I realized I hadn’t eaten much the past few days.
Well, for the better part of a week, actually.
Sustaining on vending machine snacks at the hotel hadn’t been very healthy, but I’d taken the week off of work to wallow.
It’d been a while since I’d taken any days off, so I had plenty of accrued vacation and had needed the time to process.
“All ordered,” I told them. “Should be about thirty minutes.”
Sean patted the couch cushion next to him. “Take a load off, honey.”
I followed his urging, sinking down close to him and leaning against his shoulder. “You did all the hard work. I’m not sure why I’m so tired.”
“Moving takes a lot out of you emotionally, not just physically,” Sean said. “Want to watch something while we wait?”
I still needed to sign up for new accounts with the streaming services. It was one of the few things Neil had put in his own name. My eyes drifted to the record player, displayed near the couch in a way that reminded me of the Millers’ house. “Some music?” I suggested.
Jack motioned for me to stay seated as he pushed up to cross to the record player himself. “I’ve been wanting to sort through your vinyl.”
I laughed. “I take no credit for the taste.”
“He’s such a music nerd,” Sean said, but there was a smile in his voice.
“There’s nothing nerdy about music,” Jack argued, already crouching in front of the first case.
My eyes slid shut as I enjoyed the moment. Christening my new place with the Millers’ albums seemed just right. They would have liked my new friends; I was certain of it.
Jack had gone quiet. I opened my eyes, curious what he thought of the collection. His body blocked the record in his hand, but he had stiffened, as if frozen.
“What’s wrong?” Sean asked.
Jack pushed the sleeve in his hand back down into the box, pulling out another one, making a sound in his throat I didn’t understand.
“Not finding any you want to listen to?” I asked, sitting up straighter, which pulled me away from Sean’s arm. “Most of them were Mrs. Miller’s, and she had a thing for seventies and eighties heartthrobs.”
“It’s not that.” Jack’s voice was thick as he switched to another sleeve.
“Is something wrong with them?” I pushed off the couch with my good hand, moving closer to Jack.
The record he had pulled free was only half of one, with jagged edges where the other half should be.
“Oh, no,” I whispered, my throat tightening.
I reached for the broken piece, and Jack released it to me.
“Did some break during the move?” I asked.
“That’s not possible. I was very careful with them.” Jack shifted the first case to the side, pulling free the second one and opening the lid. When he pulled the record from the first sleeve, I couldn’t breathe. It was as broken as the one in my hand.
“How many is it?” Sean asked, his hand finding my shoulder.
By the time the pizza arrived, we’d gone through more than half. All broken with jagged edges. The way they sat in the sleeves was misleading. None of the cracks were visible until they were pulled free.
Sean answered the door for me as I sat with some of the record pieces in my lap. My eyes burned, but I kept blinking, not wanting to cry. The records were just things. Really important things, but I remembered the times when I had nothing.
“It’s all of them, isn’t it?” I asked. I could replace them, in time. It’s just… they would no longer be the ones that had belonged to the Millers.
Jack sat back, his hands shaking. “I think so. I’m so sorry, Hailey.”
“It’s not your fault. I watched you put them in your truck. You were very careful, Jack.” I started putting away the pieces of the one I still had out, my eyes blurring as I found the correct sleeve. “I know you didn’t do this.”
He looked at me, but I didn’t want to meet his eyes.
“I hadn’t pulled any of these out for a while. This could have happened a long time ago. I should have checked them before now.” I’d missed so many opportunities to enjoy them over the years. Now they were gone.
“You don’t believe that,” Jack said, his voice thick.
I put the last sleeve away, staring down at the case that had held so many memories. “He did this. He broke them all on purpose.” There were a lot of records in the collection. It had to have taken him a while to snap every single one of them.
“Can they be fixed?” Sean asked. “Maybe a specialist…”
“They’re unplayable,” Jack said, his voice rough. He pushed up to his feet, striding toward the door.
Sean stepped in front of him, pressing a hand to his chest. “Where are you going?”
“To have a chat with him,” Jack snapped.
“If that chat is with your fists, Hailey doesn’t want that. Took everything in me not to pummel him last week after what he did, so I understand the urge. I do. But that would be for you, not for her.” He nodded toward me.
“What he did?” Jack stepped back, looking toward me. “What did he do?”
I shook my head. “This is my fault. I should have taken them with me last week. I knew he was upset. If I’d taken them with me—”
“Oh, honey, no.” Sean crossed the room, pulling me up from the floor and into his arms. “You did nothing wrong.”
If I’d thought things through better, I could have avoided this. I knew Neil lashed out when he was upset. “I hurt him,” I said out loud, my mind spinning. “And he’s been calling. I won’t even answer his calls. I wouldn’t even talk to him.”
“Because he’s a fucking prick,” Sean muttered, his beard tickling my cheek as he lifted me to settle us on the couch.
“It’s just—” My breath hitched. “They were all I had. The Millers didn’t have much. I sold the house and donated their clothes. Neil said the furniture was too old, so I got rid of it, too. There really wasn’t anything else, but I had the records…” I squeezed my eyes shut.
The couch dipped near my legs, and Jack’s hand ran over my hair. Neither of them said anything, but what could they say? Words wouldn’t make this better. Nothing would. I shouldn’t think about it anymore.
“It’s fine. Everything’s fine.” I scrambled up from Sean’s lap, knocking Jack’s hand away. “You were hungry. We should eat.”
“Hailey…” Jack said, standing again. The way he looked at me made me want to burrow against his chest.
“Please. Can we just eat?” I asked, my voice shaking. “Sean mentioned watching something. Let’s do that.”
“Okay. If that’s what you want.” Sean pushed up, patting my shoulder as he passed, heading to the kitchen.
I took a deeper breath before reaching for the remote. “This is a new TV. I still need to figure out how it works.”
“I can help with that,” Jack said, taking the remote from me. “You help Sean with plates and drinks.”
I wandered over to where Sean was going through the various boxes.
“You went all out. Dipping sauces and soda, too?”
I shrugged, bumping against him a little as I moved past him for the cups. “Soda is a requirement for pizza.”
“A girl after my own heart. Except for the pineapple, of course.” He lifted the boxes. “I’m going to set these up on the coffee table instead. Bring some napkins?”
“Got it.” I filled three cups with ice. I hadn’t gone shopping yet, so all I had were real plates, though I’d snagged a roll of paper towels from the house.
When I went to tuck the two-liter under my arm, Jack snagged it along with one cup.
I trailed him to the living room, but he paused, letting me have the center seat.
Jack set up my plate while I poured the drinks, making sure I had a slice of pineapple pizza.
“Is this a documentary about… pizza?” Sean asked, pausing with his slice of meat more than pizza halfway to his mouth.
I blinked, looking at the screen.