Chapter 31
CHAPTER 31
SPENCER
P acking my things was quick. Rio and Zane insisted I bring all the clothes they bought me, but fortunately, I was only able to fit so much in my bag. I carried Abuela’s urn in my lap on the drive through downtown and to my apartment, which was uneventful, thank God.
After the last couple of days, I need some normalcy. I suppose it’s a new normal I’m seeking, seeing as how I’ve agreed to stay.
We brought both Asher’s Camaro and Zane’s Honda. How they’ll both find parking, I’m not sure, but I’m telling myself that’s their problem. Not mine.
When we arrive the next morning, Asher and Rio go upstairs to my apartment to clear each room, leaving Zane and I standing on the sidewalk with my duffle.
“Do we have to stay here, or can we go inside Abstract Dreams while we wait?”
Zane frowns and nods his head. “Yeah, we can go inside.”
“Awesome!” Grabbing my duffle, I heft it up over my shoulder.
“I can get that if you want,” Zane suggests as he slings his own bag over his shoulder.
“No, I got it.”
I know Zane is just being chivalrous, but my bag isn’t that heavy, and I’m not a dainty person. I am woman, hear me roar and all that.
Zane does the gentlemanly thing and holds the door open for me, but when I step over the threshold, my bag gets caught on the doorjamb. Instead of stopping and assessing the situation like a normal person, I yank on my strap. When the bag doesn’t come free, I yank one more time and fall through the doorway.
Righting myself, I realize my bag feels a bit lighter. I look down and find that my clothes litter the entryway of Abstract Dreams, and right on top are my colorful lacy intimates.
“Oh my God!” I dive for the pile on the floor.
Zane kneels down next to me and starts gathering my clothing. “It’s not a big deal, Spencer. Nothing I haven’t seen before,” he says with a wink.
A fucking wink.
“So?! Anyone could walk in and see! Oh my God! I’m a business owner. If a customer walked in right now, they’d see my damn underwear all over the floor. I would have to kiss professionalism goodbye, and my name in the art community would be ruined! I’d have to start creating under a false name and take on a weird quirk like eating my hair. And trust me, you won’t want me anymore when I become a hair eater.”
Zane loses himself to a full-blown laughing fit.
I shove his shoulder, and he falls on his side to the floor. “Zane! This isn’t funny!”
Through his laughter he’s able to get out, “Yes, it is.”
“My distress shouldn’t be funny to you.” I pout.
“I’m sorry, Angel. But eating hair? You expect me not to laugh at that.” He takes a deep breath and sighs with a huge smile as he grabs my face gently and gives me a quick kiss. “You’re adorable. Now, let’s shove the clothes in your bag. We can stash it behind the desk until we go upstairs.”
Of course, he easily finds a solution.
What life must be like when you have a clear head . . .
A frazzled Iris steps out of the break room. Her hair is a mess, and her clothes are more casual than normal. She chews on the end of a pen as her gaze flicks back and forth between her phone and the floor.
“Oh my God! Spencer!” Iris jolts and dashes over to me. “Where have you been? I’ve been so worried about you!” She pulls me up as her arms wrap around me. Her hug feels weaker than normal.
I place my hands on her shoulders and lean back. “What do you mean? I thought . . .”
She winces at my touch, pulling out of our embrace. Her eyes almost bug out of her head when she sees Zane standing behind me, but she recovers quickly. “Yeah, yeah. You were busy finally getting your donut hole glazed.”
I ignore her joke and get right to the point. “Iris, are you okay?”
“I’m fine.” She smiles wide, but when we’re this close, I can see the bags under her eyes and the lack of makeup on her skin.
“You don’t seem fine.” I reach for her hand, but she flinches away. “Iris, what’s going on?”
She waves her hand in the air. “Nothing. He’s, I mean, I’ve been worried about you.”
“Hayes?”
“Yeah, Hayes. He’s been doing fine running the studio, but we’ve been worried, is all.”
“I thought?—”
Iris moves back to the front desk and snags her purse, slinging it over her shoulder. “Well, I should get going. So happy you’re back! Bye!” She darts out the door before Zane, or I can say goodbye back.
“Is she okay?” Zane asks next to me.
“I don’t know. Maybe my leaving for a week was too much. I should have checked in with her.”
Zane tilts his head. “We took your phone, Spencer. How would you have called her?”
“I don’t know. I just feel responsible.” My shoulders slump forward.
He slings his arm around me. “She’ll be okay. Now let’s go say hi to Hayes and everyone else.”
Opening the door to Clay Creations is much easier than normal. When I make a confused face, Zane just shrugs and ushers me through the door.
“Spencer!” Hayes rushes to me and picks me up in an all-encompassing hug. My heart contracts and if I were the Grinch, I’m sure this is the point where it would grow three times its size. I hug him back just as hard and tears line my eyes. I knew that if I left, I’d miss this, but getting to hug them all again really makes the thought hit home.
When Hayes sets me down, Alma and Paul take their turns hugging me. “It’s only been a week, y’all.” I know my comments make me sound put out, but I’m over the moon that I get to see them all again.
“How was your self-discovery?” Alma asks, then raises her brows up and down. “Did any of them help with your little introversion excursion?”
My cheeks are set aflame as I flounder for a response. Alma beats me to the punch though. “Ahh. Good for you, chica ,” she says with a wink.
“Leave her alone, Alma.” Paul leads Alma back to their wheels.
“Boss, you’ll be happy to know I’ve had everything under control. Inventory has been counted, more dates with the kids’ summer camp have been set, the storage closet is organized, kiln time has been scheduled, and I’ve begun a list of things we may need to order soon.”
My cheeks become wet from tears falling down my face.
Hayes’s face turns alarmed, and he looks to Zane for help. “Uh. Spencer? Are you okay? Have you been watching videos of lost pets reuniting with their owners again? You know what happened last time you did that.”
“No, no. Sorry. I’m fine.” I wave him and Zane off.
Hayes looks unconvinced but doesn’t push the topic further. “Okay. But did you get the inspiration you needed?”
My mind goes over everything I learned and went through in the last week. I learned some truths that have been hard to accept, but they were truths I needed to absorb and understand. While I’ll never understand Anthony, I see him in a clearer light.
I smile at Hayes as ideas begin popping into my mind. “You know what? I think I did.”