Page 58 of Loyal
She smiles. “Love the shirt. Do you have a whole closet of them?”
I look down and smile. This one is a Blink-182 shirt.
“To be honest, after I got divorced, I found a box of my old clothes in the back of the garage. I’ve been wearing them ever since.”
She laughs. “Well, if you ever want to part with any, I would happily take them off your hands.”
“Okay, stop fangirling. Hey, Viv. I didn’t know you were working this afternoon.” Bailey smiles warmly at the girl.
Viv smiles back. “I heard about girls’ day and figured I could use some girl time. Where’s Cami?”
“Right here,” Cami says, coming into the room from the hallway leading toward where the rooms are. “So what’s the plan? World domination? Manis and pedis?”
“How about Mexican food with a side of San Antonio Stroll?” Bailey offers.
Laura is still smiling, but I can see it isn’t reaching her eyes.
“Could we order in instead?” I ask.
The girls all look at me. The relief in Laura’s face tells me I did the right thing.
“You don’t want to go out on the town?”
I bite my lip. “Honestly, I deal with people all day long. Between birthing mothers and family members with no boundaries, I get all peopled out. Don’t get me wrong. I love my job, but maybe if we stay here, you could tell me more about what it’s like to be part of the club?”
Cami nods. “No, it’s perfect. Then we can have margaritas with our Mexican food. I’ll send the prospect to pick it up for us. Look up the menu for El Paso on Linwood. Text me your order, and I will call it in.”
“I’ll make the margaritas,” Viv offers.
“I’ll inform Savage we will be staying in and commandeering the back patio.” Bailey turns and heads off.
“I guess we can head outside?” I ask Laura.
“You girls go on ahead. We will be out there soon,” Viv tells us.
Laura and I walk slowly toward the back door. When we get there, she hesitates, so I do too.
“Is there a reason we shouldn’t?” I ask.
She frowns. “I don’t admit this to many people, but you did save my ass back there. I’m still scared to be out on my own. I mean, I know you are with me, but it’s not the same. My chest gets all tight, and I start to pant.”
“You have an anxiety attack,” I tell her.
She nods. “Some shit went down a couple years ago. I’m still working through it, I guess. Every time I think I am over it, something happens and I’m back there. Like today. I woke up ready to go out and hang with the girls, but the idea of being in public where someone could snatch me scares the hell out of me.”
I reach out without thinking, grabbing her hand. “We take it one step at a time. Let’s get out the door and pause. If it’s too scary, we come right back inside. If there is someone trying to kidnap you, I promise to throw myself at them to give you a chance to get away.”
She laughs, her breathing a little more even. “I’m really glad Loyal found you. Bailey knew me before all of this, so she doesn’t get it. She keeps expecting me to be that same girl as before.”
“You won’t be her, though. She’s gone.”
She nods, her face lighting up at my understanding.
It’s not the same, but I feel the same way about the girl I was before Billy. She’s long gone. Even wearing her clothes won’t bring her back.
“I’m ready.” She holds my hand tight.
We step outside together, then stop. I let her take a few deep breaths before her hand relaxes slightly in mine.
