Never Doubt Me: Judge Me Not #2(64)

He holds up his cell phone. “Jared called while you were talking to Kay. He said he overheard the paramedics talking.”

I nod once. “Yeah, Will, it’s true.”

My brother lets out a low whistle. “Shit, bro, now it’s even more f*cked up that Jared crashed into her.”

“Yeah”—I scrub a hand down my face—“seems this whole day is f*cked up.”

“Glad I wasn’t with him,” my brother whispers.

“Me too,” I whisper back.

While we sit with that thought, letting the gravity of it sink in, I again consider whether I should question Will as to why he and Jared were at Kyle’s house earlier. However, like I told Kay, I don’t expect to get a straight answer. And I sure as hell have no desire to argue with my brother right now. So, since he’s obviously not f*cked up in any way, I decide to leave it for another day.

“What’re you watching?” I ask Will as I grab for the remote.

“Hey!” He yanks his hand away, maintaining control of the channels. “It’s SportsCenter.”

“Okay, okay,” I concede, hands in the air. “We’ll watch that.”

Will keeps his grip on the remote but lowers his hand back down to rest on his leg. It’s then that I notice he’s wearing the same pair of jeans he had on the day we started on the mural in the school. I know these are the same jeans because there’s this perfectly round drop of cinnamon-brown paint right above his knee. It’s the droplet that fell from Will’s paintbrush when he stepped back to assess his work. Guess it never washed out.

That day with my brother feels like a million years ago. All the shit that has happened since then—it’s crazy. I decide to forgo questioning Will about Kyle Tanner, tomorrow, the next day, whenever. I just want to enjoy the next few days with my little brother before he leaves town.

Will and I sit together awhile longer, commenting on baseball highlights. But when I catch little bro yawning, I nudge him with my elbow and say, “Hey, you should go get some sleep.”

“Yeah”—he yawns again—“I think I will.”

After Will retires to his room, I watch a little more TV. I expect Kay to walk through the door any minute, but truth be told, I am beat and end up nodding off before she returns.

I awake some time later to find that the TV has been turned off and that Kay is curled up next to me on the couch. She’s sleeping, but when I shift my body beneath her, she wakes up.

Sitting upright, she rubs her eyes and mumbles, “I didn’t mean to fall asleep, but I didn’t want to wake you when I first got in.” She smiles over at me. “You looked so peaceful.”

Even though she’s smiling, her red-rimmed eyes tell me she’s been crying.

I quickly straighten from where I’m leaned back in the crook of the couch. “What happened at the hospital? Is Missy okay?”

Kay slowly sits back against the cushions, but her eyes hold mine. “Yeah, Missy will recover.”

“That’s good,” I say.

“It’s not all good news, though.” Kay bites her bottom lip and lowers her gaze. When she glances up at me, her eyes are filled with not just tears, but profound sadness. “Missy lost the baby, Chase.”

“Fuck. That’s awful.”

“It is,” Kay agrees. “It’s tragic.” She slumps down into the cushions. “I found out something else tonight, too.”

I raise an eyebrow and wait for her to continue.

“Nick was the father of Missy’s baby, not Tony.”

“Wow, no way.”

Kay quickly averts her eyes.

“What’s wrong?” I inquire. “That doesn’t bother you, does it?”

I can’t imagine why the paternity of Missy’s baby matters to Kay, but typical male insecurity makes my throat tighten in worry.

To my relief, Kay rolls her eyes and says, “No, Chase, I’m not bothered at all. I don’t care which Mercurio is the father. I’m just surprised, that’s all.”

I release a held-in breath with an audible exhale of air. Shit, thank God.

“What’s bothering you, then?”

The second the words leave my mouth, Kay bursts into tears.

“Oh, Chase,” she sobs, “I know it’s stupid, but every time I think of Missy losing this baby it just makes me feel so…bad.”

“Baby girl…” I reach for her, and she crawls into my lap. As she wraps her arms around my neck, I hold on to her tightly. “What can I do to make you feel better? Just tell me. I’d do anything for you.”

“I don’t know,” she croaks out against my shoulder, while she’s grasping my T-shirt in her fist. “I guess Missy’s loss reminds me of the losses in my own life.”

I know what Kay really means is that she’s reminded of one big loss—the loss of her sister, Sarah.

I hold her as she lowers her head to my chest and cries softly.

“It’s funny,” she sniffles after a minute, “but I realized at the hospital that I was looking forward to Missy having this baby.” She shifts so she can look up at me. “Chase, just last week, I was helping her set aside baby clothes.” Squeezing her eyes shut and burying her face in my chest again, she adds, “God, all the little outfits were so cute.”