The Promise (Neighbor from Hell #10)(69)

“Two-”

“I’ll give you four hundred thousand,” Garrett, who’d disappeared two hours ago, said evenly as he took the empty seat next to Joey and rubbed his hands roughly down his face, “and I’m moving in today.”

---

“This can’t be happening,” Joey said, worrying her bottom lip as she frantically searched through her backpack only to toss it aside when she didn’t find it there either.

“What are you looking for?” Julie asked from her spot on the stairs where the kitten that Joey really should figure out a name for at some point, attacked her shoelaces.

“My Eeyore keychain,” Joey said, checking her pockets, again, only to come up empty.

“Did you check your car?”

“Five times,” she said, sighing heavily as she pulled her cellphone out of her back pocket, hoping that Jackson found it only to shove it back in her pocket when she saw that he hadn’t responded yet.

“Any chance that you left it back at the campsite?” Julie asked as she reached down to scratch the kitten behind his ear.

“That’s what I’m afraid of,” Joey said, feeling her shoulders slump.

“You can probably order one online,” Julie suggested with a hopeful smile.

“I can’t,” she said, grabbing her bag and started the search all over again.

“Want some help?” Julie asked, giving the kitten one last scratch as she stood up.

“That’s okay. Jackson probably has it,” Joey said as she forced herself to drop her bag, knowing that it was pointless.

“You’re probably right,” Julie said as Joey glanced around the foyer, hoping against hope that she’d spot the small keychain lying around somewhere.

“Probably,” she mumbled sadly as she stood there, trying to figure out what she was going to do.

“How was the camping trip?”

“It was fine,” she said, glancing towards the stairs and wondering if she could have dropped it when she brought her bags upstairs.

“Anything interesting happen?” Julie asked as she returned her attention to the kitten.

“We all tried to kill Matt,” Joey said, pulling out her phone and—

No response.

“I’m honestly surprised that no one has succeeded yet,” Julie murmured.

“It’s only a matter of time,” Joey had to admit.

“I’ve been wondering. What would you do if you didn’t have to go back?” Julie asked, making her frown.

“What do you mean?” Joey asked as she slid her phone back in her pocket.

“What would you do if you didn’t go back to Pennsylvania?” Julie asked the one question that she’d been trying to avoid asking herself for a while now.

Her life was in Pennsylvania along with everything that she’d worked her entire life for, but every time she thought about going back, she felt like she was going to be sick. This had started off so simple, but it had quickly escalated into something that she hadn’t been prepared for. Somehow, Reed had gone from being the boy that had made her life a living hell to the man that she couldn’t live without.

This was getting complicated and she had no idea what she was supposed to do about it. She’d never cared about anyone the way that she cared about Reed. He was sweet, kind, incredibly sexy, and part of the reason that she was struggling to keep it together.

“I think I’m going to call it a night. Thank you for taking care of him,” Joey said, forcing a smile as she decided that she’d focus her attention on the missing keychain instead of the mess that she’d made of her life.

“Anytime,” Julie said with an easy smile as she headed for the door while Joey glanced around the foyer one last time before heading upstairs for the night.

Along the way, she investigated every corner, shadow, and crevice with no luck. By the time she made it upstairs, she’d accepted the fact that it was probably long gone. She never should have put it with her car keys, she thought as she stepped into her room and closed the door behind her. She should have kept it beneath her pillow, but she liked having it with her and now it was gone, she thought with dread as she headed to the bathroom.

“It was just a stupid keychain,” she tried to tell herself as she pulled her clothes off and stepped into the shower, but she knew better.

It was-

“Everything okay?” Reed asked as he wrapped his arms around her and pressed a kiss against her neck, instantly making everything better.

“Everything’s fine,” she managed as she reached over and turned the hot water on.

“I saw Julie on the way over here. She said you lost your keychain,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head.

“It will probably turn up tomorrow,” she said, placing her hands over his as she closed her eyes and dropped her head back against his chest.

“Probably,” he murmured. “If we can’t find it, I’ll buy you a new one.”

“It’s just a keychain,” she said, wondering how long it would be before she believed it herself.

“You’ve had it since you were little,” he said, making her smile.

“Jackson got it for me the first time you went to Disneyworld,” she said, turning her head so that she could kiss his chin.