“Sounds good,” I say, biting my lip so hard that it hurts, thinking that he’s certainly mastered the art of sliding in.
—
The hours tick by. It feels like I’m treading water and on the brink of drowning. Lainey forces me to eat, but I can only manage a few bites of buttered toast. At some point, I notice that Lainey has taken down all the framed photos of Grady. It’s a relief not to see his face, but I hope she hasn’t gotten rid of them. I’m not ready to throw pictures away. I don’t know that I ever will be.
Around three o’clock, Delta finally delivers Lainey’s bag, and she goes to take a shower. As I curl up on my sofa, I hear a knock at my door. My heart starts to race, as I wonder if it could be Grady. Or my mother, whom I’ve been avoiding like the plague.
I nervously walk to the door and stare out the peephole. I can see a man’s chest and shoulders but can tell it’s not Grady.
“Who is it?” I ask, always a little paranoid.
“It’s me,” I hear a familiar voice say.
I quickly open the door and throw my arms around Tyson.
“Oh my God. You came!” I say, my eyes welling up. I’ve never been so grateful to see him.
He hugs me back and says, “Yep. Of course I did.”
I finally let go of him, wiping away tears and telling him to come in.
He smiles, then walks into my foyer. “How are you holding up?” His voice is calm and soothing.
“Better now that you’re here,” I say.
“Good.” He nods, putting his leather duffel bag on the floor.
“Did Lainey know you were coming?” I ask.
“No,” he says, glancing around. “Where is your girl, anyway?”
“She’s in the shower,” I say. “And let me just warn you, she’s in rare form.”
“I figured. Why I came. I knew you’d need a little adult supervision.”
“Wait till you hear her ‘revenge plan.’ ”
“Oh, Lord. Do I even want to know?”
I lead him over to the sofa, explaining as I go. “Grady thinks she’s here to celebrate our engagement. He’s making a dinner reservation,” I say, both of us sitting down. “She wants to ambush him.”
Tyson shakes his head.
“It’s a bad idea, isn’t it?”
“Not necessarily. I guess it depends on how you feel about it?”
“Well, I like the idea of having her there with me. Even better if you’re there, too. I really don’t think I can do it alone.”
He nods.
“But she wants me to get all dolled up. It seems a bit—I don’t know—”
“Needlessly cinematic?”
“Yes. Exactly,” I say.
“What does your gut say?”
I sigh, thinking. “My gut tells me to let Lainey do her thing. Burn him,” I say, a little shocked by my answer. I’m even more shocked that the last two words give me a small rush.
“Well, then,” Tyson says. “Let’s do it.”
I nod, hoping I can go through with it.
“I’m so sorry this is happening to you, Hannah.”
I feel a but coming on just as he says it.
“But I never liked that guy.”
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because that always backfires. And ultimately you are the only one who can decide what’s right for you. I’m just glad you saw his true colors. The circumstances suck, but better late than never.”
“Yeah,” I say. “That’s probably true.”
“It is true. You’re a really good person, Hannah. You deserve so much better.”
