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“Is everything okay?” Darren asked from behind me.
Reluctantly, I opened the door, so we could all see one another.
Olivia finally let go of Scarlett’s leg and went back over to Bryant. She was talking a mile a minute, explaining who Scarlett was to him.
“Scarlett! Hey, how are you?”
The greeting between Darren and Scarlett was a lot less weird. I doubted they talked regularly, but it could be the fact that they socialize more often than I chose to when she was living here. In fact, she was friends with his wife. Two years of minimal trips past the bounds of our land was a long time to be isolated.
“I’m not too great actually. It’s why I’m here.”
Looking at my sister-in-law was so strange. She was a lot like her older sister, but also extremely different. I had so many feelings wrapped up in my marriage to Kylie and then her unexpected death. I knew I projected a lot onto Scarlett that she didn’t deserve, but sometimes I couldn’t help it when I looked into her blue eyes.
“Oh, I hope it’s not too serious,” Darren said to her as I stood in my own little haze.
“I mean, it’s nothing new. My dad and stuff.”
I knew all about it. After Kylie’s death, Glenn didn’t take it well. He started drinking heavily, and a lot of his care fell onto Scarlett. I made sure they had enough money, but I kept myself removed from the situation. Seeing how much it has affected her makes me feel a little guilty, but I was still only ever thinking of keeping Olivia safe.
“Do you need something? You could have called,” I argued.
Her gaze at me was a bit cold. “You don’t really answer.”
That wasn’t a lie, but I did listen to voicemails. I would have done something if Scarlett sounded like she really needed me, or I’d like to think I would.
“I’m here now.” Scarlett’s eyes darted down to the ground, her feet shuffling. “I was hoping I could stay here. I don’t really have anywhere else to go, so…”
Having my sister-in-law here was a bad idea. I wanted to offer to put her up in a hotel wherever she wanted, but I didn’t want to make things more awkward in front of Darren.
“Yeah, that’s fine,” I managed to spit out. One or two days would be okay, then we could work something better out.
“Awesome, thanks!”
Scarlett pushed past me to get into the house. I was sure she was trying to get herself settled before I changed my mind. She left her bags by the front and started bounding towards the playroom in a way that made it impossible to not look at her full breasts.
“I’ll go make sure the kids are alright.”
I hadn’t even noticed they left.
With Scarlett away, leaving me alone with Darren, he gave me a look I had seen many times. He wanted to tell me something but wasn’t sure how to word it.
“I didn’t know she was coming.”
“I know, I know,” he held his hands up in defense. “Are you okay with that? Scarlett staying here?”
“Of course. That’s why I said yes.”
“Of course.”
Darren was confusing me because his worry seemed to be morphing into amusement. I wasn’t sure what was amusing. Maybe it was something Scarlett did. She had a way of making people happy. Olivia was always smiling whenever she played with her, and I could admit, even though I was a righteous depressing bastard after Kylie passed away, Scarlett managed to get a smile or two out of me during that first year.
But it didn’t matter. It would probably be best if Darren and Bryant left, so I could deal with this new development.
“Look, Noah. I just want to make sure —”
“I know you guys came all this way, but –” Darren and I were talking over one another, and both just stopped.
“What is it?” I asked him.
“I’m just worried about you is all.”
“Oh, uh, yeah. I’m fine, really, and I’ll try to text you back more when you’re checking in.” I was hoping that would be enough to assuage him. “And I know you and Bryant came all this way, but now that’s Scarlett’s here, I should probably talk with her. Just make sure she’s okay.”
He nodded. “That makes sense. We can reschedule. I know Bryant would love to see Olivia again. I’ll go let him know we’ve got to say goodbye.”
I followed Darren back to the playroom, my head spinning with how I was going to handle this Scarlett situation.
My day had just gotten way more complicated.Chapter Two - ScarlettDarren and his son left quickly after I got there. I was sure Noah had said something to get them to go. I was also convinced that Darren’s presence was the only reason Noah allowed me to stay.
“Did they have to go?”
