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“Say thank you,” Henry says, nodding toward the chief.
Bodhi whips back around. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.” The chief chuckles. “I know this was an inconvenience, but it could’ve been a lot worse.”
He nods then walks away, heading over to an EMT standing by the ambulance and talking with a police officer. It’s late and maybe I’m just tired, but I swear they all resemble one another.
“Come on, Fireman Bodhi, your bed is missing you.” Henry takes Bodhi’s hand and heads toward the building.
Tweetie stands idle between us, but surprisingly says nothing and follows after Henry and Bodhi.
“I’m taking you home,” Conor says to his sister. I have no idea what to call her at this point.
“I’m not a child.” She ignores him and walks over to me. “Can we talk?”
I blow out a breath and glance over to see people with their phones out. “Let’s just go upstairs.”
I step back and hold my arm out for her to go first. She walks by me. Conor tries to cut in front of me, but I slide in right behind her.
The three of us walk up the stairs and enter my condo. I wait for her to walk in, but I should’ve known Conor would follow. I’m not even sure I want to be alone with her right now. I’m upset and hurt, but anger simmers just below the surface from the embarrassment she’s caused.
She turns around and faces her brother. “Conor, can you please just go?”
He crosses his arms and widens his stance as though he’s waiting for a fight or trying to intimidate me. “I’m taking you home.”
She picks up her clothes from the floor and goes into the bathroom. “You’re not.”
The door to the bathroom closes, which leaves me alone with Conor.
Not wanting this to leak into the locker room, I figure it’s better to handle this with him now. “I didn’t know she was your sister, got it?”
“Now you do. So, I guess the question is, what’re you gonna do about it?”
I’ve never seen this side of Conor before. Sure, maybe directed at someone else. He had a pretty big rift in college with this Trent guy who played for our biggest rival. Maybe at a bar once or twice when words would get thrown around in a drunken brawl, but he’s usually pretty calm and level-headed.
As for what I’m going to do, I have no damn clue. As mad as I am at her, I’m still gut-punched seeing the aftermath of her secret coming out. I want an explanation, but at the same time, I don’t care what she has to say. She lied. My head is everywhere and nowhere, and I need to step away from the situation and sort out my feelings before I can sit down and talk this out with her.
“Just let her go, man,” he whispers, and I wonder if he sees it in my face that I don’t know what to do. “She’s in the worst time of her life right now. She’s confused and not acting like herself. She’s using you to escape her reality. I mean, she’s talking about buying a bar for fuck’s sake.”
It’s like he took out a dagger and sliced me, quick and clean right down the center of my chest. Maybe I don’t know the real Leigh, or Kyleigh. He would know, wouldn’t he? God, that word.Use.It guts me.
The bathroom door flies open before I can ask him any questions about what he just said. Kyleigh’s dressed in her shorts and T-shirt, and my stomach sinks as she hands me my T-shirt and hoodie all folded up.
“I’d like to explain,” she says.
My jaw clenches. I’m not ready to have this conversation with her yet. “I think you should go home.”
The wetness that filled her eyes overflows, and a tear cascades down her cheek, then another one. “But?—”
“Let Conor take you. I need time to think this over. It’s a lot.”
She reaches out, and I step back, her arm dropping to her side. Her mouth falls open, and the pain etched in her features unfurls something inside me that I can’t navigate at this moment.
“Okay.” She walks to the door, and Conor opens it, waiting for her to leave first. I don’t even bother watching her go. I don’t want to bear witness to it if it’s the last time she’ll ever leave my apartment. “I’m sorry, Rowan. I really am. I think I just got caught up in…us.”
I close my eyes and take a deep breath.
The door shuts with a click that echoes throughout my empty place. I bring the clothes in my hand up to my nose, smelling our scents mixed together.
