“Sleep okay?” Jake asked.

I rolled over and was greeted by a pair of hairy legs. I looked up and saw the legs belonged to Jake. He was wearing gym shorts and a T-shirt and his hair was damp as if he’d just taken a shower.

Sleep okay? I could barely process the thought. “What happened?” I croaked.

“Don’t you remember? We met for drinks, then came back to my place.”

I sat up again. I remembered that part of the evening. It was after he found me with his messenger bag that was a blur. “Why do I have a hangover when I didn’t drink?”

“You drank,” he said. “We both did.”

I shook my head and another wave of nausea crashed over me. “No. I only had a couple sips of beer.”

“Let me get you some coffee,” he said and returned to the kitchen.

I pushed myself upright and stumbled after him. The smell of the eggs he was frying smacked me in the face, and I barely made it to the kitchen sink before I started retching. Jake grabbed me, one arm around my ribcage and the other holding my hair back, while I vomited up everything left in my stomach. When I finished, I rinsed my mouth and splashed cold water on my face before I turned around.

“What did you do to me?” I asked, tears streaming down my face. I always cry when I vomit. I have since I was a kid.

“You’ll be fine. It’s no worse than a hangover.” He reached for the bottle of acetaminophen, which was still out on the counter from the night before and shook two into his hand. He held them out to me with a glass of water. “Take them and go back to sleep. You’ll feel better in a couple of hours.”

I swatted his hand away and the pills skidded across the kitchen floor. “Did you drug me last night?”

“You drugged me too,” he said unapologetically.

“No, I didn’t. You got drunk all on your own.”

“I thought I was keeping up with you. But it turns out you weren’t drinking.”

“So that justifies drugging me?”

He stared down at the kitchen floor.

“Jake, what did you do to me?” I could only think of one reason to give someone a date rape drug, which is what I assumed he’d given me, although I didn’t know for sure.

He must’ve read my mind because he said, “Not that! Jesus, Grace, I would never.”

“Then why?”

“I needed to know how much you knew.”

“You could’ve just asked me!”

“I did. But you wouldn’t tell me unless I told you what I knew first, and I couldn’t do that.”

“Why?” I yelled, but the effort of holding myself upright with my head still throbbing was just too much for me. I sank down onto the kitchen floor and sobbed. Jake sat down next to me and placed his arm around my shoulder. I wanted to push him away, but I was too exhausted, and the scent of his freshly washed skin reminded me so much of Jonah I leaned my head against his shoulder and breathed him in.

When my tears subsided, Jake stood up and grabbed the bottle of acetaminophen off the counter. He held it out to me with a glass of water. “Take some. You’ll feel better.”

I swallowed down two tablets, then Jake pulled a can of Coke from the fridge and poured it into my now-empty glass. As soon as the bubbly, sugary liquid hit my stomach, it began to settle. I closed my eyes and leaned my head back against the kitchen cabinet. The knot at the back still hurt, but not as much as it had the night before.

Jake snatched another can of Coke from the fridge and joined me on the floor again. We sat together in silence until he finally said, “I’m sorry, Grace.”

“Sorry for drugging me?”

“Sorry for everything.”

Chapter 35

Of course, I asked Jake what he meant by “everything.” And of course, he refused to tell me.

“Someday I’ll be able to explain,” he said. “But not today.”

“What does that even mean?”

“I can’t tell you that either.”

We went round and round in the same vein until the phone in his pocket started to buzz. He stood up to answer it and I leaned my head back and closed my eyes. I didn’t pay much attention to Jake’s side of the conversation until he said, “Yeah, she’s right here.” Then he held the phone out to me.

“Hello?”

“I’m buying you a new phone,” Aunt Maddy said. “One you’ll actually answer.”

“Sorry, I must’ve left mine on vibrate.” I pushed myself up from the kitchen floor and staggered back into the living room.

“We’ve been trying to reach you.”

“Who’s we?” I asked as I fished my phone out of my purse. Then I remembered I was supposed to be supervising MJ and Sofia’s visit with Maria today. Shit. It was already ten-thirty. There was no way I could make it back to Santa Veneta in time.

“Where are you?” Aunt Maddy demanded.

“Jake’s apartment.” Shouldn’t she know that since we were talking on his phone? Although it was his cell, so we could be anywhere.

“You slept over?”

“It’s not what you think. Let me call you back. I need to call MJ and let him know I’m going to be late. I was supposed to take him and Sofia to see Maria today.”

“I know. MJ called me when he couldn’t reach you.”

I checked my phone. I had a missed call and several texts from MJ. “Maybe Tim can do it this time.”

“He can’t. Aaron’s sick.”

“What’s wrong? Is he okay?”

“Fever and a cough. They’re waiting to hear back from the pediatrician.”

I remembered the first time Amelia got sick. Jonah and I were so worried we both stayed up with her all night. Two days later she was fine. And three months after that they were both dead.