Page 65 of Heir to a Curse
“Why? Can I talk to him? Was there some sort of misunderstanding?”
“I couldn’t break the curse. I thought staying with him might break it, but I think he didn’t want me to die, so he left instead.”
“You’re not making any sense.”
Would explaining it clarify? Probably not. I put my hand over my eyes, realizing I was crying again. Wow, I had thought losing Sofia was hard. This was a thousand times that. Made worse by the fact that I knew he was suffering, running out of time, and had willingly gone back alone.
“Zach?” Addy leaned over to hug me. It felt good after months of not being able to touch my friends.
“You shouldn’t,” I whispered. “We could be sick.”
“Then we’ll be sick together.”
“That sounds delightful,” I muttered.
She didn’t seem to care, just held me while I cried.
“I’m staying at the house a few days,” she said.
“But what about the kids?”
“Zach. You’re not okay. I know you think you can power through all this like you do everything else in life, but losing Sofia… and now this guy…” she hesitated like she wasn’t sure he was real. That hurt too. “It’s too much all at once. And in the middle of this world insanity? I think it’s best you’re not alone.”
“I’m always alone,” I reminded her with a shaky breath. It had become the norm for me. “Until Xiang.”
“I’m here. I’ve been here.”
I smiled and closed my eyes. “You love your boring husband, right? Curl up next to him at night and feel safe, whole?”
“And sometimes want to smother him with a pillow when he snores, but yes. I love the big dork.”
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Now imagine him ripped from your life.”
She sucked in air. “I’ve been trying not to. He had a client insist on an in-person meeting, then the guy showed up without a mask. So he’s been quarantining himself in the basement. Found out a few days after he’d started the quarantine that the guy tested positive and so has half his family now…”
“You didn’t say anything. You should go home then, look after the kids.”
“His quarantine ended a few days ago. His test came back negative. We checked to make sure. But it was hard. The kids wanted to hug him. I needed…” She didn’t finish, but I understood.
“Yeah,” I agreed.
Instead of insisting I get up, she laid down beside me, resting her head on my chest. “Tell me how to fix this?” She demanded.
“If I knew, I would.”
“Okay, so we break the curse.”
“You don’t even believe he’s real.”
“Maybe,” she agreed. “But the curse is real. They just set the new brick yesterday and whatever storm that came through smashed some of it.”
“Fuck,” I swore, because that brick had taken a while to get.
“We’ll fix it.”
“Was there really a storm?” I didn’t think there was.
“Nothing on radar, but we’re filing it with the insurance that way. I can’t believe the amount of money that goes toward insurance at this house. It’s considered high risk now.”