Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 70518 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 353(@200wpm)___ 282(@250wpm)___ 235(@300wpm)
I grabbed as many plastic grocery bags as I could carry and brought them into the house. Sawyer was still in the chair and Lucy had squatted down next to him, talking in a soft voice. Not wanting to intrude, I made two more trips out to the car, bringing everything in and putting it all in the kitchen. If she hadn’t invited me to dinner, I would have made a hasty escape, but I hated leaving her to deal with this on her own. It wasn’t just Sawyer that was a mess, but the house was a pigsty. It didn’t look this bad the last time I’d been here.
Impulsively, I dug around in the pantry until I found a box of garbage bags. I grabbed one and brought it with me into the living room. Sawyer was stumbling his way up the stairs and there was no doubt Lucy was struggling with whether or not to help him.
“Let him do it on his own,” I said quietly.
She nodded, absently taking the bag from me and began picking up some of the garbage. We worked together, gathering old pizza boxes, beer bottles, and Styrofoam cups.
“Apparently, he fired his cleaning lady. I need to get in touch with her because this place is a disaster.”
“What can I do to help?” I asked.
“You’ve done plenty,” she said, giving me a tight smile. “I’ll figure out what’s next. I just hadn’t realized…” Her voice trailed. “Did you know he had fallen this low?”
“No.” I felt like shit about it, too. I was going to have to mention this to my teammates.
“Would you mind if we had dinner another night? I can’t even imagine cooking in that kitchen right now. I’m sorry I—”
“It’s okay.” I put a hand on her shoulder, cutting her off. “Don’t worry about me. Do what you have to do.”
“Thank you.”
“Sawyer has my number. You can use his phone to text me if you need anything. I mean it. This is a lot.”
“We’ll be fine, but I appreciate the offer. And I will text you. As soon as I whip this place into shape.” Her smile, despite everything going on, was genuine. “I owe you chicken and dumplings.”
“You owe me nothing.” I gently squeezed her shoulder, wishing there was more I could do. “We leave for a road trip tomorrow, but we’ll be back Tuesday.”
“Don’t worry about us.” She glanced in the direction Sawyer had gone. “Thanks for being here, though. And thanks for being his friend.”
I didn’t know why she was thanking me; it felt like we had all failed Sawyer in the friend department.
CHAPTER THREE
Lucy
The sound of a news broadcaster on a TV got louder as I walked downstairs. Apparently, the long bus trip here had worn me out; I’d slept until nine fifteen this morning. Hopefully Sawyer already had a pot of coffee on.
My heart sank as I walked into the main family room, where the blinds were still closed and he was asleep on the couch, empty beer cans littering the coffee table. It wasn’t that Sawyer was up and listening to the news; he’d never left the couch last night.
When I looked at his peaceful expression, tears welled in my eyes. I could still see the round-cheeked, smiling little boy he’d been. We’d fought as kids, like most siblings, but if anyone else picked on me, my big brother had jumped in to defend me every time.
It was me who wanted to protect him now, but I couldn’t. Not only had his wife died, he’d also had to watch her slowly deteriorate. And now he still woke up every day in the house they’d picked out together when they moved here, the bed they’d slept inthat she’d died inlikely haunting him.
I went into the kitchen and found what I needed to start a pot of coffee, then opened all the blinds on the main level of the house and resumed the cleaning Kon and I had started yesterday evening.
“What the hell?” Sawyer grumbled as I tossed his empty beer cans into a trash bag. “What’s going on?”
“Just cleaning things up.”
He raised his head from the couch a few notches, then dropped it back down immediately.
“No, you don’t need to do that.”
“Are you planning to just buy another coffee table when this one’s covered with beer cans?” I cracked.
“Stop yelling, Luce. I’m trying to sleep.”
I shook my head as he scowled, his eyes still closed. Things with him were a lot worse than I’d imagined. When he didn’t return to his team at the start of the new season, I worried he might be depressed.
It was obvious he was in a bad place, and I had to help him find a way out. I didn’t know if he needed tough love or lots of encouragement, though. Part of me wanted to tell him to get his ass in gear and another part wanted to eat ice cream and watch movies with him.