“Your ex?” My whole body feels hot.
“He’s back in town and?—”
“And what?” Red fills my vision. I’ll kill him. I’ll snatch him off the street, fly out to the ocean, and drop him three miles from the shore. “What did he do to you?”
“Nothing,” she mutters. “It’s okay. I’m safe.”
“Then why are you crying?” I release a breath, trying to calm my racing pulse. “Didhemake you cry?”
“We just had an argument. He said a few things that upset me.” There’s a soft noise on the other side of the phone, like blankets being adjusted.
“I’ll kill him for you.”
She laughs. Is that permission?
“What did he want?”
“It was weird. He wanted the stuff he left in my apartment back,” she says, “but he put that in storage months ago.”
“Ah.”
“What?”
“That’s my fault,” I admit.
“Ant, what the crap are you talking about?” She laughs.
“I put his things in storage.”
“What?”
“I sent the storage company to your house. I’ve been paying for temperature-controlled storage for his things. I didn’t like that it was in your home, bothering you.” I pause. There’s only silence on the other end of the line. “I did have a key sent to him in New York.”
There’s a sharp intake of breath on the other end of the phone. I’ve ruined everything. She’s going to tell me off; insult me.
Her laughter breaks through the phone speaker. That loud, open-throated, full-body laugh that makes me want to bury myself in her.
“Ant. That is absolutely hilarious.” She presses the words out through her gasping giggles.
“I was worried you would be mad,” I admit.
“No. No.” Her laughing finally subsides. “Fuck him,” she says quietly, but I can almost hear the embarrassment in her voice. I can imagine the pink creeping up her cheeks.
“Fuck him,” I respond, certain she can hear the smile in my own voice. “Are you really okay?”
“I’m fine. It’s fine. My friends took care of him. It was kind of embarrassing. Anam and Bailey had to step in.”
“That’s not embarrassing, your friends care about you.”
“Hmph,” she disagrees.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me,” I growl.
“You can’t even see me.” She laughs lightly. I love the sound.
“Are Anam and Bailey still there?”
“No. I’m alone. I think.”