Jax pointed with her spoon and swallowed. “I saw him by the elevators.” She was about to mention his concern over Gretchen’s uncharacteristic silence, but she noticed Gretchen had yet to touch her ice cream. “Did they not give you enough sprinkles? I asked for double extra, the way you like it.”

“It’s fine.” Gretchen rested her cheek against the side of Caleb’s head as he ate his ice cream.

Jax felt what Wyatt had mentioned early. Something was up with Gretchen. “Wyatt said you didn’t talk much when he was here. Are you okay? Is it your speech?”

“My speech is fine.”

Amanda said, “Great, actually. Dr. Melendez feels confident she’ll be back to one hundred percent in no time.”

“I bet that makes you feel pretty good.” She wanted more of a reaction out of Gretchen than a nod. “What’s going on? Why are you so quiet?”

Gretchen looked directly at her with empty eyes. “I have nothing to say.”

Jax fought to swallow her ice cream. She wished she had never asked the question.

Chapter Twenty-seven

22 days, 13 hours, 17 minutes

Jax ignored the fifth message from Gretchen and the third from Amanda. She was ready to turn off her phone completely. She didn’t know how to talk to Gretchen, and she didn’t want to worry Amanda or piss her off again. She figured keeping to herself until the meeting with Dr. Melendez was the best thing for all parties involved.

“I appreciate you inviting me to breakfast, I really do, but I’d enjoy it more if I felt like you were here with me.” Meredith put her hand over Jax’s. The diner was busy, but the bustling patrons did very little to kill the awkward silence between them.

She pushed scrambled eggs around her plate and flipped her hand over to play with Meredith’s fingers. “I’m sorry. My mind is all over the place.”

“You can talk to me. I know you try to keep me separate from things with Gretchen, but I can tell it’s eating you up inside. You’re not drawing or painting, and when you’re not at work, you’re at the hospital. I’m worried about you.”

Jax felt the softness and sincerity of Meredith’s words in her heart. “Something’s wrong, and I don’t know what.” She pushed her plate aside and held Meredith’s hand in both of hers. “Her doctor says everything’s fine, and her vitals are good. It’s just…”

“What?”

Jax stared into her coffee and wondered how to explain what her gut was telling her. “Gretchen’s not Gretchen.” She frowned at Meredith’s laughter.

“Of course she’s not. Think about everything she’s been through. On top of that, she’s been in the hospital for weeks. I wouldn’t be myself, either.”