Page 23 of All of Him
My sincerest apologies for not showing up, giving you a ride home, or responding to your texts. My dog became ill, and I turned off my phone so that I wouldn’t be distracted.
Regrets,
Brayden
My eyes could not have rolled further into the back of my head. Little did he know, I’d seen the…icon in the conversation. He read my messages, thought about responding, and ignored me in the end. Not only that, but he shared his location with everyone on social media. He had been at another bar, tagged with another female coworker.
Brayden,
The only thing you should be sorry for is your lies. Don’t talk to me unless it strictly has to do with work.
No regrets,
Amanda
I cackled quietly to myself, but apparently not subtly enough.
“You okay over there?” Noah asked, not an ounce of amusement in his tone.
“Splendid,coworker,” I responded. All I had for the boys in the office that day was snark. “Just calling out liars as they perform their craft.”
I heard Noah’s chair move, followed by some footsteps. My heart sped up, but I didn’t turn around until the footsteps were right behind me.
“Hey,” Noah said, sitting in my extra chair. “You got a sec?” His voice was so soft that I could barely hear him, and he looked like he hadn’t slept at all. In fact, he had a baseball hat on to cover some serious bedhead—something I didn’t peg him to wear at work. His hands were shoved deep into his pockets, and he leaned forward, so I could hear him better.
“That depends,” I responded, a bite in my tone.
I was angry about the way he’d talked to me, but he’d really only said the truth. We weren’t friends. We worked together.
But something about his vulnerability that morning made me want to give in to whatever he needed, so I caved. “What do you need?”
“How do I submit for time off for January? It’s only showing this year.”
I sighed, both relieved and annoyed that it was about work.
“You have to email Claude and then submit it as soon as possible in January. Where are you going?” I prodded.
“Ireland,” he answered quietly. “I have to take care of something, and I don’t have paid time off available this year since I’m new.”
I nodded, wondering why he was returning to a place that he’d so badly wanted to get away from.
“What happened to the clean slate?” I pressed.
His unkempt appearance made me think that something had happened after we talked. It didn’t really seem like hewantedto go back.
Noah shrugged and spoke even more quietly. I had to pause and actively listen to make sure I caught every word.
“Not everyone agreed to it.”
Something about the expression on his face made my heart ache, but I had no idea why. Assuming it had something to do with the accident, I didn’t poke any more into it. Still, I wanted so badly to know what was wrong, so I could help him.
“Are you okay?” I asked sincerely.
He shook his head sadly, and I felt my stomach drop. Noah Murphy had yet to admit that he was hurting, and I felt it more deeply than expected.
“Do you need anything?”
Again, Noah shook his head and looked down.
