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“You don’t mind driving it all up to HQ?” she asked.
“We’re not going to HQ.”
“Yeah, we are. I need to—“
Freddy’s glare as he crossed his arms over his chest stopped her. It was hot as hell, but it also made Sabrina want to smack him, just a little. He’d never had nothing. His family meant he had no idea what it was like to start from zero or have no one to rely on but yourself. He couldn’t understand what she was facing, because if the roles were reversed, he’d have a giant, wealthy family supporting him.
He cleared his throat and announced, “I told Patrick you’re taking the day off,” while raising an eyebrow that dared her to argue with him.
“You did what?” Sabrina asked while trying to determine where the nearest lethal weapon was.
“You’re off work today, so you can deal with everything here,” Freddy said again.
“You don’t get to decide that. Besides, who’s going to update the user manuals and tech guides? DS is expecting them by this afternoon.”
“I’ll handle it, or Patrick will tell them the storm delayed delivery until next week.” The muscles beneath Freddy’s jaw flexed as he spoke through his obvious tension. “And this isn’t a big decision. The power’s out over all of Whitetail, and there’s a fucking tree in your fucking bed, so you’re taking the day off.”
“You can’t force me to do what you want,” Sabrina argued. She wasn’t sure why she was arguing. Taking the day off was not only reasonable but kind of necessary. Still, something about letting someone else get involved felt wrong.
Instead of responding, Freddy whipped around and punched his fist through the wall of her living room. Then he flattened both palms against it and leaned forward until his forehead rested just above the hole he created. “You don’t get it, do you?” he asked softly.
“What, Freddy?” She flung her arms out to her side. “What don’tIget?“ Her vision swam as the tears she’d been holding back since two am finally broke free and fell. Freddy was her best friend, her person, the one who understood her and made her laugh. But she had to fuck it up with kissing and arguing and whining about her predicament. She turned away to avoid seeing the pity on his face.
Sabrina knew a lot of people considered her difficult. It had been true for her entire life. Her kindergarten teacher had sent home notes saying she refused to play with other kids, but she’d never understood why she was expected to play with them in the first place.
Sabrina was eleven before anyone invited her to her first sleepover. Every girl in the fifth-grade class was invited, so she knew it had less to do with her and more to do with a mom or teacher deciding things had to be fair. Life wasn’t fair, andeven at eleven, most kids knew it. But for some reason, adults were always trying to pretend that everyone had the same opportunities and choices in life.
Despite knowing that her classmates didn’t really want her there, Sabrina had been excited. She’d read about sleepovers, seen them in movies, and heard her classmates talking about them. This was her chance to experience the fun for herself.
Everything had been great at first, but when movie time rolled around, the rest of the girls decided to watch Mean Girls. Sabrina hated that movie. She didn’t mind them watching it. It didn’t hurt her. She just chose something else to do.
The girl hosting the sleepover had a dollhouse that opened on a hinge. With three floors and moveable furniture, it was the most impressive toy Sabrina had ever seen. So when everyone else settled onto the living room floor to watch the movie, she retreated to the bedroom to reenact her favorite stories while making up new endings and presenting new challenges. She was just defending the home from a fire-breathing dragon when the host mom walked in and asked why she wasn’t in the living room with everyone else.
It seemed obvious to Sabrina, but she explained anyway. “I’m not interested in the movie, but this house is amazing.”
“Yes, but you’re here for the sleepover. Everyone’s in the living room. Don’t you want to join them?” the mom asked.
Sabrina remembered her confusion as she tried again to explain that no, she didn’t want to join them. Apparently, the other girls felt her absence was somehow infringing on their fun. When Sabrina stood her ground and refused to watch the movie, the mom had called Tracy, Sabrina’s mom, and asked her to come collect her daughter.
Shaking herself from the memory, she wiped away her tears, cleared her throat, and did what needed to be done. “You shouldgo, Freddy. I’ll load everything into my car and take it up to HQ. I’m sure you’re tired from your trip.”
She turned back around, expecting him to still be across the room, but he wasn’t. Freddy was so close her nipple brushed against him through her tee, making her shiver.
“No,” Freddy said firmly while making eye contact and holding her gaze. “We’re going to load up my car. Then you are going to follow me to my house, where we will unload. Then we’ll both take naps, because neither of us has slept enough to function properly.”
It sounded so tempting, and Sabrina was so fucking tired.
Then his voice softened, and Freddy whispered, as if he didn’t want the tree to overhear, “Just come get some sleep, and then we’ll figure out everything else however you want.”
As a knot of more tears formed in her throat and choked off any words she might try to form, Sabrina nodded her agreement and grabbed the tote of computer supplies to carry out to Freddy’s Audi.
Chapter 7: Freddy
He’d watched Sabrina run her fingers along the dress he’d fallen in love with the day he met her and knew she needed time. Not just time for phone calls and shopping, but time to process. As she’d stared into her closet, rubbing the red fabric, Freddy swiped from his camera app to his messages and sent one to the family group chat.
Freddy: Tree fell on Sabrinas house. Its bad. Going to my place to crash & deal with stuff. More updates later.
Then he ignored the buzzing. His family was fine. Sabrina wasn’t. He’d been so mad that she didn’t seem to care that he’d almost lost the only person in his life who really knew him. Without Sabrina, Freddy disappeared behind the façade of easy-going practical joker. But seeing the tears stream down her face before she turned away felt like someone ripped his heart from his chest and was pressing it through a cheese grater.
