Suddenly Psychic (Glimmer Lake #1)(12)

She blinked, and in the space between opening and closing her eyes, she saw an image of Josh handing the blanket to a blond girl with dark eyeliner and pouty lips.

“What’s this?”

“A Coraline blanket.”

“What’s Coraline?”

Valerie blinked again and lifted her hands from the blanket. “You got this for Rachel.”

Josh frowned. “What?”

Val shoved the blanket away. “You got this for Rachel, and she didn’t like it, so you’re giving it to me?”

She saw the truth flash like flip-cards in his eyes. Shock. Irritation. Denial. Shock. Denial.

“I didn’t— She wouldn’t even like— Why would you say that?” He grabbed the edge of the blanket and started rolling it up. “Rachel doesn’t like shit like this.”

“No, ’cause she’s an infant.” Josh’s girlfriend wasn’t an infant, but she was twenty-six, which was ridiculous when Josh was forty-four. “Why would you give me a secondhand present? That’s just gross. You didn’t need to get me anything, so why—?”

“You know what?” He stood and shoved the blanket back in the bag. “I saw it and bought it because it was cool. You don’t want it? Fine.” He picked up the bag. “I shouldn’t have come.”

“No, you shouldn’t have.” She had the weird urge to scratch every inch of her skin, and she didn’t know why she was so certain Josh had given the blanket to Rachel, but she was sure of it. It was as if she’d been in the room when Rachel turned her nose up at the beautiful blanket. “I’m fine.”

His smile was grim. “Of course you are. You always are.”

“I’ve had to be.”

Jackson and Andy walked into the hospital room, both holding foil-wrapped burritos and looking between Josh and Val with wary eyes.

“You guys cool?” Jackson stepped in front of Andy by half a step.

Josh cleared his throat. “Yeah, we’re cool.”

Andy’s eyes were wide and hopeful. Jackson’s gaze was skeptical.

“Dad, are you gonna stay for a while?” Andy walked to Val’s bed. “There are breakfast burritos in the lobby. I can get you one if you want. I have money.”

Josh looked between all three of them and cleared his throat. “Uh, I think your mom wants to sleep. She had a rough night so…” He motioned toward the door with one hand in his pocket.

Val almost felt sorry for him. At the end of the day, Josh was a giant adolescent who needed to be the center of attention and had never really grown past his early twenties. He still thought he could skate through life with a crooked smile, good looks, and charm. He’d been a great boyfriend. He sucked as a father and husband.

She took Andy’s hand and squeezed it. As soon as she took his hand, the itching sensation in her skin calmed down.

Andy was her baby with a heart as big as a mountain. Jackson was her capable and responsible partner in crime, but Andy was her big squishy heart. Probably the only heart Val really had.

“Right.” Jackson was matter-of-fact. He walked over and grabbed the bag with the blanket from Josh’s hand. “I’ll take care of this.”

Josh let it go. “Yeah, okay.”

Jackson sat in the seat by the window and returned to his burrito. “Mom, are they bringing you breakfast soon? Do you need anything?”

“I think Grandma was going to check on breakfast.” She kept her eyes on Andy, holding his hand tightly. “I’m fine, kiddo.”

“Okay.” Jackson got his phone out, his father forgotten.

Josh walked over and mussed Andy’s hair. “See ya, kid.”

Andy’s expression fell a little, but he tried to hide it. “Yeah. I’ll call you later, Dad.”

“Okay cool.” Josh walked out of the room without a backward glance, which was the way he’d left Val when she confronted him about cheating.

Gone.

Exit stage left.

See ya.

Val took a deep breath and tried to remember what was going on in her life. “So this whole accident makes me kind of a badass, right?”

Jackson smothered a laugh. “Yeah, right.”

Andy rolled his eyes. “Mom, seriously?”

“I mean, I kicked my way out of a sinking car and swam fifty feet to the surface of the lake in the middle of the night, dragging my friend with me. I think that’s pretty badass.” She scooted over so Andy could sit on the edge of her bed. “Did you bring me a burrito?”

“You’re not supposed to eat burritos.” Jackson flipped through a magazine. “That’s why they bring you food.”

“It’s probably gonna suck,” Val whispered to Andy. “Go steal Jack’s burrito for me.”

Andy giggled, and everything was right in her world again.

Except the minute her son slipped away to use the bathroom down the hall, Val’s skin started itching again. Was her nervous system on edge? Was it some kind of weird reaction to the painkiller they’d given her?

She rubbed her face with both hands.

“Mom, you okay?”

“Yeah.” She looked up and took a deep breath. “Just tired, I think. Just… really tired.”