I hefted my bag higher up on my shoulder and crossed my arms. “Is this supposed to be an apology? Because it kinda sounds like one, yet you’re missing a super important part. Two little words?”
Bernadette sighed and rolled her eyes, but said what I wanted to hear. “I’m sorry.”
“For?”
“Um, my mom talking bad about your mom?”
“You know that’s not the only thing you have to apologize for, right?”
She threw up her hands. “Look, Lila, this is hard for me. You know how dysfunctional our moms’ relationship was. You know I’m not the only one who had to deal with their mom’s unrealistic expectations. Can’t you cut me some slack here? I mean, your mom messed you up too, you know.”
I reached into my bag to pull out my keys. “You know what, forget it. If you can’t even apologize when you’re clearly in the wrong, that’s on you. I don’t have time for this.”
“Lila!” Bernadette called after me, but I ran out to the parking lot and she was smart enough to not come after me.
Detective Park had exited before me and was waiting in the lot, his car parked right next to mine. “Do you need me to give you a ride home?” he asked.
“I think I’m good. Just need a minute.” I took a few gulps from the water bottle he’d given me earlier and the angry buzzing of Bernadette’s words began to fade. “Feeling better already.”
“Do you want to talk about what happened?”
“What do you mean? I just told you what happened. And the Bernadette thing is family business, not yours.”
Detective Park nodded. “Understood. But I meant your reaction to the reporter, Lila. That’s a classic symptom of PTSD.”
“I’m fine.”
“Have you called Dr. Kang yet?” He paused. “Look, I don’t want to pry, but Rosie told me a bit about your mom and your connection to these pageants. I wouldn’t want this investigation to trigger—”
“I said I was fine, Detective! Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go lie down for a bit.”
He sighed, but let it go. “I’m going to follow you home to make sure you get there OK. I don’t want you blacking out along the way. And I wouldn’t put it past Mr. Philipps to be waiting for you at your house.”
There was no point in arguing, so we got into our cars and I took extra care to drive home just under the speed limit—any slower and that would’ve been suspicious. I guess he didn’t trust me to make it the ten steps it took from my driveway to the door, so he sat in his car and watched me even after I’d parked. I made a big show of unlocking my front door and opening it with a flourish.
“See, Detective? Made it here all on my own. You can go back to solving crimes, or whatever it is you do when you’re not hounding me.”
Detective Park kept his expression blank as he nodded at me through his open window. “Take care of yourself, Lila.”
“I always do, Detective.”
Chapter Fifteen
I’d fallen asleep shortly after getting home, cuddling Longganisa while listening to Their Greatest Hits by the Eagles on repeat. The Eagles were in the middle of their second rotation when a loud, insistent buzzing woke me up. Thinking it was my phone alarm, I slammed my hand on it, trying to dismiss the alarm, but it wouldn’t shut up. I grabbed my phone, the bright screen blinding me as I struggled to figure out what was going on without dropping it on my face.
Oh. Adeena and Elena were blowing up my phone in the Brew-ha Cafe group chat. Probably because I was supposed to come over hours ago and hadn’t told them there’d been a change of plans. I groaned and dropped the phone back on my bedside table, too tired to deal with them just now. Longganisa had been lying on her own pillow on my bed, but moved over and snuggled next to me, sensing my need for comfort. I was just drifting off again when a knock at my door roused Longganisa and set her off barking.
“Anak.” Tita Rosie knocked on my door again, but I didn’t bother getting up.
“What?” I called from my bed.
“Can I come in?”
I sighed, but quietly so she wouldn’t hear me. No need to take out my bad mood on Tita Rosie. “I guess.”
Didn’t stop me from being a brat though.
Tita Rosie entered the room with a plate of barbecue chicken, the savory sweetness filling the space. My stomach rumbled and suddenly I couldn’t remember the last time I’d eaten. I sat up, ready to thank my aunt, when my brain finally registered the oddly familiar scent.