Page 29 of Never After Us
Okay, now he’s being obtuse.He knows we don’t speak about my vinyl collection.I lost half of it because fucking Barret meshed it with Roderick’s and then gave it to Kit—Rod’s wife.I’m still mourning the loss.Sure, I could go and try to get them back but instead of doing so I was the bigger man and gave it to them as a wedding present.
The fact that I still mourn the loss is a different issue though.
So, I focus on Mara.“She gave me tea to replace my coffee,” I say darkly.
“The horror.”
“It had fucking lavender.”
“Oh, no.”
“And chamomile.”
“Unthinkable.”
“And she chirps like a fucking sparrow.”
He goes silent for a long moment.“Okay, that one I can see how it’d be a big problem.”
I sidestep a tourist group while gripping the phone harder than necessary.“Look, can you just do it?Or not even her.Do a background check on Lina.Confirm everyone she’s related to.If this Mara person is an impostor, I want to know.”
“That seems intrusive,” he says.
“It probably is,” I admit, “but I’m trying to prevent my life from becoming a disaster zone.They are fucking intrusive.”
“Buddy,” he sighs, “your life was a disaster zone long before this woman showed up.”
“That’s fucking rude.”
“The truth can always be uncomfortable, not rude,” he corrects.
I stop at a crosswalk, pacing a little at the curb like a broken metronome.Traffic whooshes by, horns blare, a bus exhales exhaust.I hate this city today.I usually tolerate it, but today it feels like cement, noise, and people who breathe too close.
“Look,” Eddie says more softly, “I’ll run the check.Not on her—on Mrs.Lafferty.I’ll pull records, wills, relatives, everything.If your new neighbor doesn’t come up, you’ll be the first to know.”
I narrow my eyes at nothing.“That sounds ...helpful.”
“It is,” he says patiently, “but mostly it’s my attempt to stop you from going full green rage monster.”
“We agreed you’d stop calling me that.”
“We agreed, yeah.But here we are.”
I make a strangled noise and start walking again.“Fine.Do your thing.”
“Already on it,” he says.“Now breathe.”
“I am breathing.”
“Try harder.”
I hang up before he starts in on meditation techniques like he knows how to calm a beast.My hands are shaking.
Why the hell are my hands shaking?
I shove both hands into my pockets and turn onto the quieter street of my therapist’s office is.Maybe he can help me—or give me a prescription to relax far away from my new neighbor until she’s gone.I would hate it, but that might be the only solution, right?
ChapterNine
