Laila shook her head. Why didn’t Asher mention it? “Where’d Eric go?”
Tahi made a face. “That’s the thing. Rudy told me that he’s gone to Chicago. Asher thinks he’s going to tell his father about Asher going to work for the L.A. Times, not GGM, before Asher gets a chance to. Asher was really pissed off when he got the note from Eric.”
“But how did Eric find out about the L.A. Times?”
“Apparently, Eric got hold of Asher’s cell phone. Rudy said Eric stole it on purpose. Anyway, he was probably nosing around in Asher’s texts. If he was, he found out about Asher’s job, and must have wanted to be the one to break the news to Asher’s dad. You know how jealous he is of Asher. He probably thought he’d just hit the jackpot, finding out about Asher’s plans when Asher’s parents don’t know about them yet. He gets to be the messenger of bad news and look like the hero in comparison to Asher. Slimeball,” Tahi muttered in disgust.
Shivers poured down Laila’s arms as she recalled how Eric had interrupted their lovemaking last night . . . how smug he’d sounded about Asher’s phone.
“Rudy said Asher was headed to Chicago to try to stop Eric, or at least try to smooth things over with his parents if he couldn’t get there before the damage was done,” Tahi continued. “When I talked to Rudy, he seemed to think Asher was driving to Chicago, not meeting with you. So I didn’t say anything different.”
“I texted Asher about Mamma Sophia,” Laila said numbly, thinking about the chain of events. “He must have come and met me instead of driving to Chicago.”
She recalled asking him what he’d been doing when she texted about her grandmother, and how he’d casually responded that he’d just been eating breakfast with the guys. He’d hidden the truth about his own anxiety regarding his family because he knew she was worried about Mamma Sophia.
Her throat ached. She stood abruptly and grabbed her purse.
“Where are you going?” Tahi asked.
“Just to call Asher.” Her feet faltered and she came to a halt.
“What?” Tahi wondered.
“Zara,” Laila whispered. She thought of how her cousin had looked just now as she’d left the waiting room for the cafeteria. She’d been teasing her little brother about something and laughing. “She doesn’t know yet about Eric. Does she?”
“I haven’t told her,” Tahi said. “I just found out. I wouldn’t be surprised if Eric skipped town without so much as a good-bye text. Would you? And now he’s burned his bridges with Asher. He’s not going to be coming back.”
“She’s crazy about Eric. This is going to kill her. We’ll have to tell her together, okay?”
Tahi nodded, looking grim.
• • •
A few seconds later, Laila sat on a step in the silent, empty hospital stairwell. He answered on the third ring.
“Hey. How’s Mamma Sophia?”
“She’s doing okay. Her blood pressure is coming down. They’re talking about discharging her tomorrow or the next day.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah. Asher . . . where are you?”
“Out by the pool. Why?”
“Tahi told me about Eric taking off last night . . . and about where he went.”
“Oh.”
“You should have told me. I was hoping when I called, you would have left for Chicago already.” She winced when she realized she’d sounded sharp in her anxiety. “I mean . . . I know you didn’t tell me because you were worried about me. Thank you for that,” she said feelingly. “But your family . . . your mom and dad. You should go to Chicago and try to explain things to them. Even if Eric has told them about your job at the L.A. Times already, they deserve to hear the truth from you.”
He didn’t respond immediately. Her anxiety doubled in the silence.
“Asher?”
“I already told my dad,” he finally said. “Well, I tried to explain, anyway. I called him after I got home from the secret lake.”
“Oh no,” she whispered, cringing inwardly. She could tell by the resigned, bitter tone of his voice that the conversation with his dad hadn’t gone well. “Had Eric already told him about your job?”