I help her out by adding, “I suggested she stay here in case he showed up at your house. That’s all.”
“So why couldn’t you just call me and tell me?”
“I didn’t want you getting involved. You can sometimes overreact, and I just wanted everything to die down without any drama. It’s no big deal, and I haven’t heard from him. It’s over, so can we just drop it?” Candace says, and when I look down at her hands, I see that she’s shaking.
“Bullshit!” Kimber snaps and starts walking out.
“Kimber, wait. Please don’t be mad at me. I’m coming back home this week. It’s not a big deal, please don’t make it into one.”
She walks up to Candace, and I am back at her side, holding her hand when Kimber says, “You’re the one who made it such a big deal when you decided to avoid me all week. We have always been honest with each other, but if you really want me to believe your story, then fine. I believe you.”
Candace drops back down to the couch when the door slams shut and begins to cry.
“I don’t know what to do.” She looks up at me and pleads, “What do I do?”
Sitting down next to her, she falls into my arms and cries. Mark comes in and sits opposite her and rubs her back, trying to calm her down.
“She’s so mad at me. She’s never been mad at me.”
“Just give her some time,” I tell her. “We’ve both been avoiding her, so you can’t blame her for being upset.”
“It’s all my fault.”
“It’s not your fault, Candace,” Mark assures her, and I listen as he continues. “It’s just the shit situation you were dealt, but it’s not your fault. You can’t blame yourself for this, for any of this.”
She pulls back from me and turns to face Mark.
“What do I do?” she asks him.
Wiping his thumbs across her cheeks, he tells her, “You do whatever you need to do to get through the day. You do what you need to do to protect yourself. That’s all you can do.”
“Even if it hurts her?”
“I don’t think you can do anything else, sweetheart, when you’re trying so hard to just hang on.”
Hearing them talk, hearing his words to her . . . it’s near perfect.
I’m supposed to take her back home tomorrow morning before her classes, but I can’t have her leave with Kimber so mad. “I want you to stay,” I tell her.
She leans back on the couch, Mark and I on either side of her. “I can’t stay.”
“You can. Give Kimber a few days to cool down at least.”
“But I feel like I’m just interfering with you guys.”
Letting out a sigh of irritation, I tell her, “You’re not. I already told you this the other day.”
She turns to look at Mark and eyes him for his input.
“Jase is right. You should give her a little time to calm down.”
You home?
Yeah. AutoCAD is going to be the death of my laptop.
I’ve been trying to get some work done on my project while Candace is in class. It’s her first day back, and I’ve been worried about her all day. My phone chimes again with another text from Mark.
Mind if I stop by?
Never.
Mark and I haven’t spent a whole lot of time together, just being alone, so I shut down my computer and pour a cup of coffee. I don’t have to wait very long before he gets here.
“Hey, what have you been up to?” he says as he walks up to me and gives me a hug.
I pull him in for a quick kiss before I respond. “Just trying to get some work done, but my computer is running slow as shit today.”
Mark seems a bit distracted as he nods and takes a seat on the couch. I walk over and sit next to him when he says, “Can we talk for a second?”
“Yeah, what’s up?”
Shifting to face me he asks, “Have you heard from Candace today?”
“No. She has her two-hour studio today and a lecture. But she should be back soon.”
“You worried?”
“Always,” I say as I kick my feet up on the coffee table and lean back into the couch. I watch Mark, and I can tell he wants to say something, and now I’m not worrying about Candace so much. “What’s up with you?” I ask him and when he looks at me, I can definitely tell he’s nervous.
“Look, I know you love Candace, and I need you to know that I do too. She’s amazing. But I think her staying here is hurting her more than it’s helping.”
I let out a deep breath and look straight forward as he continues. “I think her going back home will help her. She’s so dependent on you right now, and I worry that she’s going to fall into a rut.”
I turn back to him and defend, “She has really bad nights.”
“I know this isn’t easy on you. I get it. And I know you want her here, but I think her standing on her own will maybe force her to deal with this more.”
What he’s saying makes sense. Of course I want her here. All I want to do is protect her. Looking down at the cup of coffee, I nod my head, and Mark takes it from my hands and sets it on the table.
“You two are so close, and I understand why, but I think her going back home might be the best thing you can do for her.” He takes my hand in his and says, “You can’t keep her here forever, you know?”
But I want to.
Mark and I both turn around when the door opens and we see Candace walking in. She quickly glances our way while walking straight to the bathroom. I look at Mark and sigh when I hear her turn on the shower.