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I saw Daniel come out of the house, his arm still in a cast, but when he saw Callie, he smiled and ran to hug her. He’d taken to her quite easily, considering what he’d been through. He was a little warier around strangers, but with Callie he was the same kid I knew before my Mother fucked things up. I climbed out of the car before I could dwell on what it all meant, and met Callie and Daniel on the front lawn.

“Hey buddy.” I ruffled his hair, and he ducked away from my hand. “Where’s Staci and Aiden?”

He rolled his eyes. “In the kitchen. Kissing.”

Callie giggled from behind her hand, and all I could do was shake my head. I cared about Staci, and Aiden was a friend, but dammit, they couldn’t be doing that shit around Daniel. I wasn’t ready to have ‘the talk’ with my nine-year-old brother.

“What do you say we start unpacking your new room, huh buddy?” Callie reached out, and Daniel smiled when he took her hand. He followed her inside, with me behind them, filling her in on everything we missed. When we walked into the house, Staci and Aiden appeared in the doorway. Staci looked flustered, and Aiden’s hair was a mess. At least they were dressed. I’d had the unfortunate experience of walking into the kitchen at our old apartment to find them half-naked, and it wasn’t something I wanted Daniel to see. I was still trying to burn the image of Aiden’s ass from my brain.

I quirked a brow, and Staci blushed. “You’re back. I didn’t hear you guys pull up.”

“Hmmm hmmm,” I replied. Aiden snickered, and then tapped Staci on the ass before stepping past us. “Is the paint in your car?” he asked. “Figured we could get started on that while the girls unpack the rest of the house.”

“Yeah, I’ll be out in a minute.”

“Can me and Callie paint my room?” asked Daniel. The bruise on his cheek had turned yellow, but I could still see it clearly. It reminded me that I was doing this for him. Because he deserved better. So naturally, I couldn’t say no.

“If Callie wants to help you.”

Callie grinned at my over Daniel’s head. “Of course. But I think we should change into some old clothes first.”

“Vaughan’s boxes are in the main bedroom,” said Staci. I caught the glint in her eyes. “You can wear one of his shirts, Callie.”

Callie lifted a brow, and I brought my hands up in surrender. “Hey, don’t ask me, I just live here. Staci’s the boss.”

Without further encouragement, Daniel dragged Callie towards my bedroom, and when they were out of earshot, Staci sidled up to me. “I like her.”

I found myself admitting, “Me too.”

“I think you should keep her.”

“Stac…”

“It doesn’t have to be serious, Vaughan.”

I sighed. “It’s not the right time. I have Daniel to think about.”

She waved her hands in dismissal. “You deserve to be taken care of too, Vaughan. And I think she wants to. Question is, will you let her?”

Staci went back to unpacking the kitchen, leaving me with that little nugget, and while Aiden and I started painting the inside of the house, I wondered if she didn’t have a point. My life carried on, and apparently so had Kenzi’s. Could anyone really hold it against me if I tried moving on too?

But it wasn’t really anyone else I was worried about.

It had more to do with whether or not I’d hold it against myself.

Aiden nudged me, and I realized I’d stopped painting.

“You’re scowling at the paint,” he remarked, looking downright amused. “Wanna talk about it?”

“Not much to talk about.” I was getting into the habit of lying to my friends, but unlike everyone else, Aiden didn’t buy it. He dropped the roller into the paint dispenser, and wiped his brow.

“We’ve been at this for over two hours. Let’s take a break and grab a beer. You need to talk, and I’m gonna listen.”

AIDEN’S ADVICE WAS ‘don’t overthink it’.

That’s all he said. He listened to me pour my guts out, and then simply said, ‘don’t overthink it’ before going back to painting like our conversation never even happened. I expected him to give me shit but he sat there patiently, sipping his beer, while I spoke. His advice wasn’t profound, but it made me see things from a simpler perspective.

Don’t overthink it.