Page 180 of Lose You Twice

We all laugh before Wren stands, starting to gather the plates. “All right, girls, time to shower and get ready for bed. Justin, please finish your homework.”

Justin groans, leaning back in his chair. “Why don’t you ever boss Holden around?”

“Because I do my homework and chores without being told, so she doesn’t have to?” Holden says, already on his feet, helping Wren gather the dishes and take them to the kitchen.

“So unfair,” Justin mumbles, going to grab his backpack before plopping back down in his seat.

Picking up my plate, I take it to the sink, coming up behind Wren. I cover her body with mine, sending her a grin when she narrows her eyes at me. “Sorry. Couldn’t reach the sink.” I drop a chaste kiss to her cheek and hear a gagging sound from behind me. “Why don’t you go help the girls upstairs, and I’ll handle this?”

“You sure?” She dries her hands off on a towel, moving to the side and allowing me full access to the sink.

“Of course.” I look to Holden. “We can handle a few dishes again, right?”

He snorts. “Right.”

Wren shakes her head, but heads upstairs with the twins without saying another word.

Holden and I work in silence for a couple minutes before he speaks. “So. You’ve been around more again.”

I nod. “Yup.”

“Are things serious now or what?”

“Direct, huh?” I spend a few extra seconds washing the plate in my hands before handing it to him to dry and put away. “I don’t really know how to answer that. It’s up to her. Right now, I just want to make things a little easier for her, ya know?”

“I get that, and don’t get me wrong, I appreciate it, too. I just don’t want to see her hurt again.”

His words hit, because that’s the last thing I want, so I tell him as much. “I don’t want that either. I want her to be happy.”

We work in silence again, neither of us seeming to have anything to add. Once the last dish is put away, he turns and leans against the counter, arms crossed over his chest.

“It might not be my place, but I never understood what happened. One day, you were coming around all the time; the next, we didn’t hear anything about you, and you even started skipping family holidays for the most part.”

He levels me with a look. “Don’t think I didn’t notice. We all did. I’m happy you’re around, cuz you’re all right and all that, but if you disappear again, Wren isn’t the only one that’ll be upset.”

He has a point, one that I’ve mulled over a lot over the last few days. “I get that. I really do. I’m not trying to complicate things by being here, and I surely don’t want to add extra stress to anyone if things don’t shake out the way I hope they do. But I will be leaving again. Not permanently, but I won’t be around as much when I move to Seattle.”

Holden stares at me before shaking his head. “Like I said, not really my business, but I’ll bust your balls if you hurt my sister.”

Justin chimes in, apparently eavesdropping on our conversation. “Ditto to that.”

“Two against one? Come on now.” I gently clap Holden on the shoulder. “Really, though; I plan on sticking around for as long as your sister lets me.”

He seems to like that answer, which is great because that’s the best I can give him right now. “Wanna play some Xbox?”

“Is your homework done?”

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t start that shit, Mercer.”

I laugh, and we head to the living room, fitting in a game before Wren makes it back downstairs.

“All right, girls are in bed. Justin, you need to shower,” she says, coming to stand in front of me. “And I hate to break whatever this is up, but I know for a fact that someone has a test this week that he needs to study for.”

I look at Holden and shrug. “I don’t have midterms yet, so that must be you.”

He sighs. “It is. I have an algebra test tomorrow, but I don’t need to study more.”

Wren crosses her arms. “If you want an A, you probably do.”