CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
Ingram
My phone chimed with a sound that was only for one person.
Mouse had sent me a text message.
I stared at my phone sitting on the table next to the bed for a good five minutes before reaching for it. I wasn’t sure how I felt. There were quite a lot of emotions slamming into me at the same time, that was for sure.
Hurt.
Sad.
Relieved.
And there was even a little anger in there.
What had taken him so long to get back to me?
Finally, I unlocked my phone and read what he had to say.
I know I’m sorry isn’t going to cut it. I know I don’t deserve to ask anything from you but will you please come to my room at the compound. There are a lot of things I have to tell you. And I really need you right now.
There wasn’t any kind of explanation given and I found myself wanting to go to him to find out what had been going on. Maybe it was that last line that really tugged on my heart and had me giving in.
His words did so many things to me at once. I was still a little mad and his vague, odd words did little to douse the fire inside of me.
But then I also felt relieved to hear from him. I even felt a little happy that he’d reached out. Oh, and I was also concerned because there was obviously something going on that he didn’t want to explain to me just yet.
I knew the instant I finished reading his text message that I was going to go to him. He needed me for whatever reason and though he hadn’t been there for me the last few days, I had a feeling like he was dealing with something much bigger than my little problems.
I went to Ky and asked if they didn’t mind watching Chry for a while. I knew he’d do it no problem but I felt like I was always asking so much from him and Chris.
“Mouse reached out to me. Is there anything I should know before I go over there?” I asked boldly.
I didn’t miss the thick swallow that slid down his throat.
“Not my place, Ingram. But you should prepare yourself. All I ask is that you think aboutyouwhile you’re there.”
His words had me even more confused and I knew it showed on my face.
Then he was hugging me which was a little strange because I knew Ky loved me, but he didn’t hug me all that often.
“I think you’re strong, kid,” he said in a serious tone. “I admire so many things about you. Not a day goes by where I don’t look at you and feel proud of how far you’ve come. And I think that if your heart is telling you to go in one direction, then don’t let your head confuse you because you are strong enough to handle anything.”
“Alright, well, I have no clue what you’re talking about, but thank you,” I told him playfully. “I’m going to go before you say something else that I need a decoder key to figure out.”
“A fuckin’ decoder key? What the hell are you talking about?”
“You know, like on the back of that cereal box. It’s… oh, never mind. Love you. Thank you for watching him.”
I was extremely nervous on the drive to the compound.
After I parked in the front lot, I took a moment to calm myself down. Mouse needed me and I had a feeling that I was going to have to summon some of that strength that Ky kept saying I had.
That was the thing though. The spine that I’d recently found, wasn’t wanting to sag right now. As much as I tried to calm myself down, the closer I stepped to his door, the more the flames rose. It shouldn’t have mattered what was going on and what happened, if he really wanted to make this work then he should have come to me. He should have at least called and told me that he needed some time to figure out whatever he needed to.
My knuckles met the hard surface of his door repeatedly. The knock wasn’t exactly hard, but it wasn’t all that soft either.
