Chapter 45 Make a Run for It
forty-five
make a run for it
Maya
I startled awake as the sun peeked through the window, the distorted remnants of a horrible dream fading like mist in the morning light. I should have known that talking about my time living in my car would dredge up those old nightmares.
Reaching for Liam, I found an empty space where he should have been. Still warm. He wasn’t far then. Probably went to check on Nana.
I rolled out of bed with a grunt and shuffled to the bathroom, where I took the fastest shower of my life.
I wished I could have lingered under the scorching spray, but Liam would be back any minute, and I wanted to be out of here before I had to face him again.
Reluctantly, I shut off the water and wrapped myself in a towel.
Back in the bedroom, I yanked on some comfortable clothes before grabbing my duffel bag and tossing it onto the mattress. As I bent to pick up a stray pair of socks, Liam walked in wearing nothing but his boxer-briefs and looking more delicious than I remembered.
“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” He asked, his tone accusatory.
I froze, hand hovering above the bag. Busted. Again. Guess I should have skipped the shower.
“Would you believe … nothing?”
Liam closed the distance and plucked the socks from my hand. “Nothing? It sure doesn’t look like nothing. It looks an awful lot like you’re packing. Again.”
I dropped my gaze, my throat tightening. “I have to go.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose, pushing his glasses up, a sure sign of his frustration.
I would miss the way he manhandled his glasses when he’s irritated. It was so unexpectedly sexy, I couldn’t get enough.
“Sweetheart, it’s barely morning. Let’s go back to bed.”
I shook my head, blinking back tears. “I need to make it to the station before the bus leaves.”
Liam tilted my chin up, but I refused to meet his gaze. This was hard enough without having to look him in the eye while I did it.
“Maya, why are you doing this?”
Something inside me snapped. “Because I can’t stay!
” I spun out of his grasp. “I let Nana down, Liam. I was supposed to take care of her, and look what happened! If I can’t do that, what good am I?
” Tears spilled from my eyes, but I couldn’t stop.
“She doesn’t need me anymore. She’ll move into the assisted living residence, and as much as I hate it, I know it’s for the best. She’ll have professionals looking out for her twenty-four hours a day, and after last night, I know that’s what she needs.
But if I’m not taking care of her, then what’s the point of me being here? ”
I’d planned to stay until the end, looking after Nana the way she had looked after me, but tonight proved I wasn’t capable of that.
Like my parents, she’d have a better life without me around.
Liam scrubbed a hand down his face, his frustration evident. “You sound insane right now. You know that, right? Nana loves you. She doesn’t blame you. She went out for a walk and forgot her jacket. That’s it. It was a coincidence. It’s not your fault.”
A harsh laugh ripped from my throat. “Of course it’s my fault! I was the one who was here. I was the only one who was here, if you recall.” My voice hardened, twisting into a cruel mockery of itself. “Because you left. Again.”
He recoiled. Good. Let him hurt as much as I did. Maybe then he’d let me go without a fight.
“Just promise me you’ll stay long enough to get her settled into her new home before you run back to the city again. You can at least do that, can’t you?”
“Maya…”
I waited for what felt like forever, but he said nothing more.
I sniffled, nodding to myself. “That’s what I thought.
” My voice wobbled, but I pushed through.
“I’m sure you can convince Greg to handle it when you disappear again, like he handled all the phone calls when you were too busy being an important marketing guy, or whatever the hell you were up to instead of visiting your grandmother. ”
I turned away, packing the rest of my socks and underwear into my bag. There was no bad situation that wasn’t made worse by wet socks and dirty underwear. Especially a situation like not knowing where you’d be sleeping every night.
“Maya, stop,” he pleaded, his voice soft. “You don’t have to do this.”
I zipped the duffel and turned to face him. “I do. If you knew anything about my relationship with your Nana, you would understand.”
We locked eyes, the silence between us crackling with unspoken tension, before Liam shook his head, grabbed his clothes, and dressed as walked out the door.
The moment he was out of sight, my shoulders sagged with guilt. I shouldn’t have said those things, but I needed him to leave me alone. It was hard enough to work up the courage to leave without him standing there telling me all the reasons I should stay.
I headed to the bathroom, splashed cold water on my face, and took a steadying breath before going back to the bedroom.
Time to go. Or at least, it would have been if Harold hadn’t draped himself across my bag like he was posing for whatever the feline version of a figure-drawing art class was called.
The massive, furry bastard had smothered the entire thing, his enormous fuzzy belly spilling over the sides. His tail flicked lazily as he gave me the world’s most condescending side-eye.
“Harold, get off. I need that.”
He blinked slowly and treated me to a yawn so wide I think I glimpsed his intestines. I gave him my best glare, but he would not budge.
“Come on, move your fat ass. I’m not joking.” I grabbed a strap and tugged, but he snuggled down harder, somehow making himself twice as heavy. I groaned with the effort of trying to move him. Man, I regretted not putting him on the weight-control diet the vet recommended.
“Harold! Get. Off. My. Bag!” I yanked again, and still nothing happened. The cat was a goddamn anchor. I needed a new plan.
I marched to the kitchen and grabbed a tube of his favourite salmon paté treat.
“Oh, Harold,” I cooed as I opened the package and squeezed it into a shallow dish. “I have your favourite treat. Want some? You just have to come to the kitchen to get it.”
A frustrated meow came from the other room, but no phwump of his huge body hitting the floor followed. He was playing hard to get.
Damn it.
“It’s pink salmon,” I called, injecting my voice with more sweetness I didn’t feel. “You love pink salmon.”
Another irritated meow, but still no Harold. He must’ve been a donkey in a past life. There’s no other way he could be this stubborn.
“Fine. Breakfast in bed, then. But I’m not spoon-feeding you, you little bully. That’s where I draw the line.”
I placed the dish at the end of the bed, out of his reach. He glared at me, his tail flicking in agitation. Then, insultingly slowly, he raised his paw, licked it, and swiped it over his ear, all while maintaining that same placid eye contact, as if he didn’t have a care in the world.
“Come on. You love salmon. It’s all yours. Get your lazy ass off my bag and come get it.”
Harold meowed in that deep, rumbling way of his, but still didn’t get the hell off my bag. And I’d sunk so low that I was pleading with a cat.
“You’re going to sit there and clean yourself instead of eating this delicious salmon? Seriously?”
“Yes, seriously.”
I jumped, startled to find Nana standing in the doorway, the scowl on her face larger than I’d ever seen. Oh. Shit.
“He’s pissed off that you’re sneaking off for no good reason,” she continued, her voice low, dangerous. “And he’s not the only one.”
“Heeey, Nana,” I drawled, aiming for casual and unbothered, but landing somewhere between suspicious and guilty as hell. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
She leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, foot tapping out a disapproving staccato. The clothes she borrowed from Dr. Madison hung on her thin frame, a grim reminder of how badly I’d screwed up last night. And here I’d thought I couldn’t feel any worse.
I continued my attempts to placate the furious woman standing before me. “Isn’t it too early for you to be awake after all that excitement last night? You should have slept in.”
Liam stepped around Nana to scratch Harold’s head, earning a friendly purr for his trouble. “Good boy, Harold.”
I narrowed my eyes at Liam, gesturing to the furry deadweight still draped across my bag.
“You did this?” Liam shot me a smug grin.
Nana spared an affectionate glance for Harold.
“I can’t make him come to me for food, yet somehow you convinced him to smother my bag—and ignore his favourite treat—just to stop me from leaving.
” I scowled. “What are you, some kind of cat whisperer?”
He fluttered his ridiculously long eyelashes at me, the picture of innocence. “Harold loves you and doesn’t want you to leave.”
“Ha! That cat spends most of his time plotting my death.”
Nana cleared her throat pointedly. “Enough about Harold. What’s this Liam is saying about you leaving?”
I whipped around and pointed an accusing finger at Liam. “You told on me? What are you, five?”
Liam stuck his tongue out, then laughed outright. “If you’re going to act like a child and run away from your problems, I’m going to act like a child and tell on you. So there.” He adjusted his glasses smugly. “You started it.”
I mouthed the word traitor at him, which made him laugh harder. “I can’t believe you tattled.” I turned to Nana, jaw tight, teeth clenched. “It’s okay, Nana. It’s time for me to go. I’ve made peace with it.”
“What—and I will only say this once, so listen carefully—the actual fuck, Maya?”
I blinked. “Uh…” I didn’t know what to say. Nana must have really been furious to be dropping F-bombs like that.
“Time for you to go?” Nana stepped into the room, her voice sharp as a knife as she continued. “Go where? You belong here. This is your home.”
Tears pricked my eyes, but I forced them back. I’d have plenty of time to cry later, once I was gone. “No, Nana. I let you down. I was supposed to take care of you, and I got distracted.”
She stared at me blankly for half a second, then barked a laugh.
“Oh, sweetheart.” Nana shook her head, stepping closer.
“You think this is about you?” Her voice softened as she cupped my cheek.
“It’s past time for me to move. But you?
” She squeezed my hand. “You belong here. Who else would look after the store?” She smirked.
“Besides, why bother to leave now when you’d have to turn around and come back when I kick the bucket? ”