Page 45 of I’m Fine Save Me (The Spiral Duet #1)

Chapter thirty-one

Morgan

W hen Cooper had called me yesterday, I had been elated to finally get some dedicated time with our girl. Only the text message from Tegan that had come a short time later had burst that little bubble of happiness.

Tegan

It’s a bad day. I’m sorry. I’ll explain later.

Normally I would have just reprimanded her for needlessly apologizing yet again, but something felt off.

Tegan doesn’t cancel plans like that. When she tells me she’s going to make time for me, she does.

I sent her a text about an hour after the disappointing cancellation to make sure she was okay. Her go-to response of Yea, I’m fine, followed by, Good night, handsome, didn’t sit right with me at all.

On any other given day, Tegan would have over explained herself and apologized more times than I would’ve been able to count. When I texted Cooper, he gave me the same bullshit I’m fine response.

It is something I’m used to from Coop though. Even when he’s opening up to me about his challenges, he always tells me he’s fine. It doesn’t matter if I can clearly see that he’s not, he insists that he is.

It seems to be one of the few things he and Tegan have in common with each other.

Both of them could be holding the weight of the world on their shoulders, and even if someone told either of them that they could tell they weren’t alright, they’d both yell “I’m fine!

” like if they said it enough times it would be true.

I’m coming to see Cooper as a really good friend, and I fall harder for Tegan every time I talk to her. So to know in my gut that something bad happened last night has been eating away at me.

I wait until well past the usual time Hannah is done having breakfast and her first therapy exercise of the day before I call Tegan. Thankfully, she answers on the second ring.

“Hey. Fuck, I’m sorry. I should’ve called or texted you before now.”

Immediately, she’s frantically speaking, but as soon as I open my mouth to cut off her apology, she barrels on like she’s scared I’ll be upset.

“There was this whole thing yesterday and then the police called me back,” I blink. “Police?” but she doesn’t stop to take a breath, or hear me for that matter. “—because I didn’t actually hang up the phone, when I thought I hung up the phone.”

“Why did you call—”

“They heard Hannah screaming and thought I was unable to report the rest of the emergency—”

“Tegan!”

That seems to stop her. The number of times I’ve called her by her name since I let that first baby girl slip, well… I could count them on one hand with no fingers.

“Breathe, baby girl,” I add in the most soothing tone I can muster considering the way my heart is racing at what could’ve possibly happened.

“I know Chris would’ve blamed you for whatever you’re about to tell me, but I’m not him, okay?

Plans got shot to hell because life happened.

That’s okay. I just need you to tell me what happened and how I can help now, alright? ”

I hear her take several deep breaths. In my head I can picture her nodding. The image immediately has me saying, “Let’s switch to facetime so you can prop up your phone. Is Hannah napping?”

The smile in her voice when she says, “Yea, she’s sleeping,” tells me that she’s at least coming down from her panic.

So I send the facetime request and only seconds later her beautiful, but slightly swollen face fills my screen.

Her hair is pulled up in a messy braid over her shoulder.

Her top eyelids are swollen like she spent the entire night crying, and her nose is red from how many times she’s probably rubbed it with a tissue.

She immediately does just that after getting the phone propped up on what I know to be her coffee table.

She’s dressed in a pair of leggings and a long sleeved, hooded t-shirt. This is what she’s deemed as her “not sexy” clothes in previous video conversations.

I think this is one of her most appealing states of being. She’s comfortable, and even though she looks like she’s spent more time crying than sleeping over the last eighteen hours, Tegan Michaels is still one of the most beautiful creatures I’ve ever seen.

I watch her pull a fleece throw blanket from the back of her couch before she curls up, hugging a throw pillow while looking at the camera.

“Talk to me, baby girl,” I tell her as I lock my office door. My girl looks like she needs someone to hear her out and I don’t want anyone interrupting that. “What happened yesterday? Is Hannah okay? Is Cooper?”

Tegan nods and reaches for another tissue to start nervously folding it into quarters while she relays to me the events of yesterday.

Of the little bit she’s told me about her biological father, I already knew I hated the man.

Hearing just how broken her voice is telling me about getting Hannah into the house and his threats, it makes me see red.

“So when I didn’t come back to the phone, the dispatcher ended the call and started calling back. I finally answered while I was sitting in the hall listening to Cooper calm Hannah down. I finished explaining the situation and that I didn’t want to press charges—”

She trails off and I know my expression has changed, despite my best efforts.

“Morgan, I can’t. If he has any sway, he will file charges against Cooper and there’s no way Coop can claim self defense.”

“This isn’t right, baby girl,” I say with a long sigh and she nods. “I get it though. Coop losing his job would– it wouldn’t be pretty.”

“No, it wouldn’t,” she says with a heaviness in her tone I wish I could lift for her. “He mentioned not too long ago that he wants to try coming off the meds. I told him I’d rather he keep trying what the doctors tell him until he feels comfortable. He was so… lost yesterday, Morgan.”

That brokenness is there in her voice again and I hate it. I hate that anything makes her feel so shattered even though all she does is hold the pieces together.

“He made her grilled cheese and tucked her into bed last night, but didn’t speak again before he fell asleep.

I tried to get him to talk to me, but he was just…

a shell.” She’s looking off towards the window and I can see the sheen forming in her eyes like a dam is about to break again.

When the silence stretches on, I clear my throat and ask, “Where’s Cooper now? ”

She sniffles and dabs her nose with her tissue before meeting my eyes again.

“He went to work early this morning. I tried to get him to use some of his sick time, but he shook his head and walked out. I got a text right before you called. He asked how Hannah was doing this morning after everything, but nothing since I responded.”

My strong, beautiful, resilient girl looks towards the window again and sniffs. I can see her visibly putting herself back together even though she hasn’t even taken the time to fall apart. “What about you, pretty girl?”

“Hah. I don’t think I’d use that descriptor for me right now, but I’m fine.”

Tegan gives a mirthless laugh, pushing it all off.

I tilt my head and lift a brow at her. When she looks up and notices it, she shrugs her shoulders and repeats that two word lie again. “You know I don’t believe you. I’m starting to think there needs to be a rule about you not lying to me.”

Her affronted look would be downright amusing if I wasn’t being serious with her.

“I haven’t even taken the time to make rules for you in return and you’re already wanting to add to the list for me?”

“I’ve only made three rules for you and technically one of those applies to me too so… you’re only behind by two.”

I smirk at her and prop my chin on my fist to punctuate the statement with being adorable.

She just rolls her eyes, which is an improvement. Tegan used to be scared to even type out “ rolls eyes ” in our writing server because she thought I would get mad about it. I’m pretty sure it’ll take years to undo some of the damage the shit heads before me did to this amazing woman.

“Rule number one is that real life always comes first. My home life has to come first just like yours does and neither of us can get upset about that… which is why I’m surprised you were so frazzled when I first called.” I quirk a brow at her and continue. “Rule number two—”

“You don’t have to list the rules,” she interrupts. I grin. “But this one is my favorite.”

“I just bet it is,” she grumbles sarcastically.

“Baby girl isn’t allowed to make herself come when she’s home alone without permission.

” I wink just to taunt her a bit. “Rule three is that you will not needlessly apologize and if you do, I get to charge you a blow job that you will one day eventually give me… and I fully intend on keeping score.”

Tossing her tissue into the small waste basket by the couch, she sits up a little straighter. She rests the throw pillow in her lap and laces her fingers together in front of her.

This is my girl and I see her fight coming back to life.

I have to fight my smile. I don’t want her to know that I’ve won just by drawing her out from behind her fortified armor.

“Fine. Rule number four is that Daddy can’t needlessly apologize either.”

Ah, so she wants to bring our little daddy kink play into this now?

I really do love this woman, and I only fall harder when I get to see this spirit of hers shining through.

“I’ll accept the rule, and love that you threw Daddy in there even if you’re being a brat about it.” I grin. “But I don’t needlessly apologize.”

“You do too, and I’ll start taking away blowjobs from your little tally sheet when you do. Maybe then you’ll realize how often you tell me you’re sorry when you don’t have to.”

She crosses her arms and wears a smug smile. “Rule number five, you have to say good night to me every night and good morning to me every morning.”