His words interrupted my thoughts, and I stammered out an answer through a strangled scoff. “I-um, well, I-I mean, c’mon man… We hardly know each other. You’re not my best friend. I’m not yours, either.” I tried to say it lightly, but I watched the scar by his eyebrow draw down at the too-harsh words.
“You are,” he said. “I mean, in terms of friends, you’re basically the only one I have, which makes you the best, doesn’t it? How many friends do you have?”
Truth was, none. Besides Addy, and I didn’t have her anymore anyway. Other than that, I had clients and coworkers. None that I would consider friends or spend time with that I wasn’t being paid for. I’d always been more of a lone wolf. Though I liked being a part of a crowd, the leader of a crowd even, I’d never been one to form close bonds with anyone. Until Addy came along, and even throughout our relationship, my solitary existence tended to cause more problems.
“I have friends,” I said anyway. “And two brothers.” Tom and Robbie, both years younger from my mother’s second marriage, and both imbeciles. We hadn’t spoken in years, but he didn’t need to know that.
“None of them invited you to stay at their houses,” he said simply.
I swallowed. “Yeah, well—”
“I mean, isn’t that just the type of thing best friends do for each other?”
“Look, what do you want me to say, Elias? So I don’t have any friends.”
“You do. You have me.”
“Okay, yeah. I have you. Fine.”
“And I’m your best friend.” He nodded encouragingly. My heart pounded, confusion and anger swarming through my mind at what had started out a strange conversation and, by an unimaginable feat, managed to only get stranger as it progressed.
“Yeah, sure. Whatever.”
“So, why don’t you trust me to know what happened to you at work? Or what that conversation was about? Did you do something illegal?” He seemed oddly fascinated by that possibility, his eyes lighting up and eyebrows dancing as he waited for me to answer.
“We had to fire a guy who really didn’t deserve it, okay?” I said with more than a hint of exasperation. “Sometimes I just get really overwhelmed with how unfair life is.”
“What did he do?” He held out a Twizzler for me, and this time I took it, just because I had no interest in fending him off any longer.
“Nothing. That’s the worst part. He didn’t do anything. Someone tried to hack into our network and failed, but because they made it past some sort of firewall or…I don’t know. Something like that. Anyway, he’s the head of IT, and someone had to take the fall, so they’re firing him. And it just really sucks because he’s a…he’s a really good guy.”
“I can see why that would upset you,” he said sadly. “Surely there’s something you can do. Aren’t you a boss there?”
“Nah, I’m just an agent. I don’t really have any pull. I mean, don’t get me wrong, my boss talks to us and listens when necessary, but his mind’s made up on this one.”
“I mean, it’s damn near impossible to have a completely impenetrable network, even with the very best cybersecurity system. Do you know what they were working with?”
“Oh, yeah. I forget this is what you do. I honestly have no idea.”
“Do you want me to come in for a second opinion? Maybe I can help find the vulnerability, and then no one would need to get fired.”
"No,” I said too quickly. “That's not necessary. My boss probably wouldn't even like that I told you in the first place. I really appreciate you offering, though. Truly."
"It would be no trouble. You can just tell him you have a friend who works in tech and see if he'd be open to someone coming in and taking a look."
"Yeah," I said, because it was obviously going to turn into another fight if I didn't nip it in the bud right away. "Maybe. We'll see. Anyway, I need to get going, or I'm going to be late. Don't wait up, okay?"
"You got it," he said with a laugh, watching me as I walked toward the door. When I opened it, he unmuted the TV, and the blaring music returned in full force.
I hurried down the stairs, still shaking from the interaction.
What a weird little dude.
Chapter Six
It took Rory nearly ten minutes to answer the door, still dressed in her clothes from school, when I showed up. If it wasn't for Vivienne’s car in the drive, I would've thought they weren't home.
"Hey, kiddo. What took you so long? I tried to call your mom, but she's not answering her phone." I could swear her blonde hair had grown several inches since I'd seen her last, and her face looked different somehow, more mature. It had only been weeks, but it felt like years.
How much life had she lived without me?
"I was in my room," she said simply, as if that were enough explanation. She glanced down at her phone, her cheeks flushing pink as she displayed a wide grin. She tapped away at the screen, responding to whatever message had just come up.
"Where's your mom?" I asked, and when she didn’t respond right away, I said it again. “Earth to Rory—is your mom home?”
She looked up at me as if she’d forgotten I was there. "Sorry, yeah. She’s out back with Vivi." The name Vivienne had requested each of her grandchildren call her. "Why? What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean what am I doing here? A dad can’t come visit his favorite daughter?” I pulled her in for a hug, which she squirmed out of in a less playful manner than she once had.
“I’m your only daughter,” she teased, her lips pursed. She looked so much like her mother when she made that face.
“Ahh, well
