She nodded. “Okay.”
He studied her face for a moment before reaching out to take her hand. She let him, even though she was still mad about how he’d acted.
Once he’d pulled out of the parking lot and headed toward his house, Hannah spoke again. “Take me home.”
“I am, babe. We’ll be home in just a few minutes.”
“No, Matt. Not your house. I want to go to my apartment. I want to go home.” At that moment, she wanted to go all the way home, not her apartment, but to go see her parents. Her perfect spring break now looked like a wreck.
He glanced at her, but she kept her attention focused on the windshield. “What? But you said you’d stay with me all week.”
“I know.”
“I said I was sorry. And I meant it. We’ll figure this out. I overreacted. I’ll find out what Janine has to say tomorrow, and we’ll figure it out.”
She nodded. “Okay. Yeah. We’ll figure it out. That’s fine, but I still want to go home. I need some space tonight.”
He opened his mouth, and she thought he might argue with her, try to convince her to change her mind. But he snapped his mouth shut, the sound of his teeth crashing together audible. With lips compressed, he gave a short nod. “Do you need anything from my house first?”
She licked her lips. “Yeah. That would be nice.”
The rest of their time together passed in tense silence. He waited in the car while she went into his house to gather her things and drove her to her apartment without saying a word. He surprised her when he parked in front of her apartment and got out to walk her to her door, carrying her bag for her. He set it just inside the front door, and reached for her hand again, his face imploring.
“I am sorry for how I acted at the restaurant. Please forgive me.”
“I—” She stammered, wanting to say she did, but unable to lie to him. “I will.” It was the best she could do.
He nodded, not pleased, but accepting at least. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know what Janine says. I—Well, I’m hoping she won’t fire me, so I might not be able to call until I get off at five.”
She nodded, not saying anything.
“Promise me you’ll answer?” It came out softly, almost a whisper, like he was afraid she would shut him out.
She forced a tiny smile, somehow feeling the need to reassure him despite everything. She was mad, but she still loved him. “I promise. I’ll answer when you call tomorrow.”
“Okay. Good.” He looked a little less tense as he stared at her for a moment more. Then he leaned in and gave her a swift kiss on the lips, turning and leaving before she could kiss him back.
The door closed, and she lifted her hand to her lips. She shook her head and took her bag into her bedroom, spending the rest of her night trying to distract herself from the pull of her sadness.
She knew that whatever Janine had to say, it couldn’t be good for her and Matt. The look of disgust on the HR director’s face flashed in Hannah’s mind any time she let her thoughts drift in that direction. So she watched movie after movie, gorging herself on ice cream and popcorn, until she couldn’t keep her eyes open. Then she dragged herself to her room, feeling cold and alone in her small twin bed. Wrapping her arms around her pillow, deriving a tiny amount of comfort from hanging onto something, she cried herself to sleep.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Hey, Matt.”
Matt let out the breath he’d been holding, relieved that Hannah had picked up on the first ring as he walked through the cool March evening to his car after work.
Hannah’s voice sounded scratchy and rough over the phone. Dull. “I guess it’s good that you’re calling me after five, huh?” He thought she might be trying to make a joke, but couldn’t quite pull it off.
Sucking in a deep breath, he hoped he’d be able to salvage everything. It seemed possible, but it would take a lot of work, and compromise, mostly from Hannah. “Yeah. Can I come over? I—” He paused with his hand on the handle of his truck and swallowed. “I want to see you and tell you about everything in person. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” It came out out so quietly that he almost couldn’t hear her over the sound of the cars driving past.
“Okay. Good.” He pitched his voice low too. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”
“Okay.” And she hung up.
The drive to her apartment seemed to take an eternity, his thoughts running through everything he wanted to tell her, the questions he needed to ask her, hope and dread warring inside him at her possible answers. She didn’t know it yet, but she held all the power in their relationship, more so now than ever before.
Pulling into a parking spot as close to her door as he could find, he steeled himself with a deep breath before getting out. He took the stairs two at a time, in a hurry to get to her, to hold her, and to have one of the hardest conversations of his life. He preferred to avoid hard conversations, emailing or texting if he had to do something, nonstop avoidance if he could get away with it. But with Hannah he’d make the effort. He’d fucked it up once by wussing out
