17

After saying goodbye to Tyson, Saffron had to push her way into the room at the inn. “What’s going on here?” she asked, eyeing the additional suitcases and boxes clogging up the floor space.

Halla looked up from the table where she sat with her laptop. “Kendall’s been here with more of her stuff. She apparently pulled out of school today and wanted to get all her things from her room before your mother found out.”

“Smart girl. I should have done that before I left.” Saffron hopped over a box and dodged a mound of folded clothes. “Speaking of Kendall, where is she?” Saffron finally made it to Halla and set Mrs. Dekker’s bag on the table.

“She rushed out to meet Joel somewhere, I think.” Halla shrugged. “I’m honestly hoping your mother doesn’t call the police and break in here to recover this stuff. What’s this?” she tapped the paper bag.

Saffron started to sink into the other chair but changed her mind and launched herself instead toward the bed, where she sprawled out with a sigh. “It’s peach cobbler that Tyson’s mom sent, and maybe more things. She insisted.”

“Oh, nice. I’m actually hungry.” Halla stood and peered into the bag. “Uh, there’s a lot more than cobbler in here. Looks like bread, rolls, and . . . peanut butter?”

“Help yourself. It’s for both of us.”

“Sounds like it went well, then.”

Saffron didn’t reply.

Halla released the bag and came to sit next to her. “Uh-oh, what happened?”

“Nothing, really.” Saffron blinked back tears. “It’s just . . . they were super nice. His mother apologized. They adore Tyson, and he really likes them. They actually invited me to stay with them, if you can believe it. She kind of reminds me of Lily.”

“Wow, that is a little weird, but it does sound like something Lily would do. Only it’s not weird for Lily because she runs a foster home. But if the Dekkers are nice, what’s the problem?”

Saffron sat up, pulling her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. “Me. I’m the problem. I don’t fit in. My heart feels like a lump of rock when I’m sitting there listening to them talk. One ‘I’m sorry’ doesn’t change what happened.”

“You don’t think you can forgive her?” Halla put a hand on her back, patting gently.

Saffron thought a moment. “It’s not that. I understand why she did it, and I feel better that she apologized. But it still hurts so much.” The tears started to fall. “And when I think of seeing her again, and helping them, and sharing Tyson with them . . . it’s hard.”

“Do you think it might get easier?”

“That’s what I’m guessing, but at the same time, I don’t want it to. I want them to feel it. I want them to understand what they gave up. Because they aren’t new people in my life—they were a part of what happened, and they should feel it. But they’ll never understand because they weren’t there those last months, and it was too long ago. I’m the only one who will ever know. Not even Tyson can know everything because he wasn’t there with me.”

“Oh, honey.” Halla squeezed her tightly. “I don’t think there’s anything anyone can do about that.”

Saffron nodded. “I know. It just takes time, I guess. I didn’t realize I was holding so much anger inside. It’ll be good to let it go.” She gave Halla a watery smile. “I think.”

“It is good. You’ll see.”

“Oh, and I saw his girlfriend. Or a picture of her, rather.”

Halla blinked. “And?”

“She’s beautiful. She has dark eyes and olive skin. Shiny black hair. She’s slender. Definitely a product of good genes. One thing for sure is that she looks nothing like me.”

“Dang those genes,” Halla muttered.

Saffron flopped back on the pillows. “Why couldn’t she be homely? I mean, she’s a doctor already for crying out loud. How can I compete?”

“You compete plenty well, if you ask me. I saw you kissing, remember? He’s into you big time.”

“He did kiss me again tonight.”

Halla grinned. “See? So when are you seeing him again?”

“He has to take his dad to therapy tomorrow night, but I’m meeting him for lunch at the hospital where he works. Don’t worry. I’ll be back before two—you can even make it to the study group for your test, if you still want to go that early. Then on Wednesday, he wants to take me to dinner and show me his condo in Oceanside.” She hesitated before adding, “He invited me to stay there instead of paying for this room.”

“Oooh.” Halla’s eyes grew impossibly wide. “Seriously?”

“He also said he loves me.”

“No way! What did you say to that?”

Saffron suddenly wished she hadn’t brought it up. “I’ve always loved him, Halla. I don’t know how to stop.”

“This is so exciting! I’m happy for you.”

“Thanks.” Saffron herself felt a bit more numb than excited. Were they moving too fast?

Halla lay down on the pillows next to Saffron, and for a long time neither of them said anything. When Saffron was about to drift off without getting ready for bed, Halla said, “If you’re meeting him at the hospital, maybe it’s time we check out this lady doctor and see what’s what.”

All Saffron’s sleepiness fled. She propped her head up with her hand to look at her friend. “What are you saying?”

“Aren’t you curious? Don’t you want to see her in person?”

“I’m not going to stalk her.”

“Okay. I’ll go with you, and I’ll stalk her.”

“No.”

Halla sighed. “All right. But can I still go?” She looked at Saffron with pleading eyes. “I promise to get lost during your romantic lunch. After, maybe we can stop at the beach again for a while before I have to leave.”

“I don’t know how romantic my lunch will be at a hospital, but I guess you can come. At least you can if you push me out of this bed, so I can brush my teeth.”

Halla obliged with more gusto than was needed, but at least Saffron was up and moving. Even muscles she didn’t remember having were tired. She’d barely dropped back into bed when someone knocked on the door.

“I’ll get it,” Halla called, jumping up from the table where she was eating a peanut butter sandwich with one hand and typing with the other.

She opened the door to Kendall, who came in dragging a large box. “Sorry I’m here so late.”

“You shouldn’t be carrying things that big,” Saffron said, climbing out of bed.

Halla was already hefting the box. “It doesn’t weigh much.”

“Just a few stuffed animals for the baby,” Kendall said. “They were mine when I was little. Well, some were probably yours, Saffron. “You can have whatever you want. I just didn’t want Mom to throw them away.”

Is that what she did with my things? Saffron decided not to ask. “I hear you dropped out of school?”

“Yep.” Kendall sank down on the bed with a sigh. “I did. And I’m glad. I don’t want to be a designer. And at least I got back some of the tuition. That’ll help me until I find a job.”

Saffron studied her sister. Far from looking happy, she appeared exhausted and ready to cry. “What do you want to be?”

“I don’t know,” Kendall muttered.

“Are you hungry?” Saffron asked, sitting next to her.

Kendall shook her head. “I ate with Joel.”

Ah, Joel. Something was up, Saffron could feel it. “I heard he’s going to a concert. Are you going with him?”

“No.” Her response was scarcely a whisper. “It’s just for the guys.”

She started crying and Saffron put an arm around her. “It’s going to be okay,” she murmured.

“I don’t think he wants the baby anymore,” Kendall said between sobs. “And maybe not me either. What am I going to do?”

“Tonight you’re going to sleep,” Saffron said, rubbing her back. “Tomorrow we’ll figure it out.”

Kendall stood. “You’re right. I’m so tired I can’t think straight.”

Saffron gently propelled her sister in the direction of the bathroom. “Go get ready. You need rest for the baby.”

Kendall grabbed one of her bags and disappeared into the bathroom.

Climbing back into bed, Saffron checked her phone and found a message from Vaughn. Slaying any more dragons?

Thinking of the Dekkers, she typed in a response. Maybe one or two. You?

There was no answer, so he was probably getting ready for bed or coming home from somewhere. She wondered if he’d told the people they normally hung out with that they were broken up. If so, he might even be on a date. She put down her phone.

“What’s wrong?” Halla said.

“Nothing. Just worried about Kendall.”

Twenty minutes later, Kendall had come to bed and Saffron was nearly asleep when a return text came from Vaughn.

Why do you get all the fun? Maybe I’ll come down before Halla does on Friday and bring your car. You might need more dragons slain.

He had to be joking, of course, because of his classes, but it made her smile. Her brief reply was only partially sarcastic: My hero.

Her last thought as she drifted off was why couldn’t her sister have fallen in love with someone like Vaughn.