“Sure is.” Rina’s tone is sugar-sweet, and I know the stress is getting to everyone. The unknown, the unsure of how to treat Lennox is all catching up to everyone.
“Well, I’ll go get Lennox.” I move quickly to Rina’s truck, opening the side door to find a very ticked-off Lennox.
“Tell the women to stand down. I’m not helpless.” His voice is flat, albeit annoyed.
“They’re worried, and they don’t know how to act around you.”
He tips his head back on a sigh. He’s looking really good today, actually. We haven’t seen him outside of video chats, but even the deeper of the cuts have very small bandages on them at this point.
“I know you’re right. Fuck, I don’t even know how to act around me.”
“Hey, it’s okay. No one has all the answers right now, and I can not-so-subtly hint to them to chill on their caution level.”
“Thank you. For being normal, for treating me like I’m normal.”
My heart breaks for him, and it’s extremely hard for me to see him so different than the lively man from just a few weeks ago. The one that kicked my ass on the trail. That guilt is pounding hard in my chest again, but I know I can’t let it pull me under.
“It’ll take time. They’ll get there,” I tell him, holding the door open, and he slowly swings his legs over the side.
“The hospital set me up with a therapist,” he says softly.
“That’s good.” I’m not sure if he’s happy or annoyed with it, so I choose to stay neutral.
“It makes me nervous.”
“Yeah, it made me nervous too. Hell, I think it still does.”
“Yeah? Does it get easier?”
I once again could lie to him, but I know it would do more damage than good. “No, I honestly don’t think it does. You just accept that it’s for the greater good and deal with it. And then some other trauma rears its head, and you deal with that.”
He chuckles at that before wincing and grabbing his side.
“Easy, man, no need to play the hero. Let’s get you inside.” I help him out of the truck and then let him take the lead.
Willow already has the house open, and Rina is saluting us as she walks away and takes off. I can’t help but laugh at their sibling-ness. I’ve never had that, so it’s super entertaining.
“You pissed her off real good,” Willow says, holding the door open.
Lennox just grunts, and Willow looks up at me with a question in her eyes. I shrug, knowing if he doesn’t want to talk, I won’t be the one to push him. Lennox walks into his large cabin and collapses onto the couch.
“Ledger said he stocked up the kitchen, so you should be good to go on food for a while. Do you want us to hang out for a while?” she offers.
“I think…” He sighs. “I think I just want to be alone for a while.” He pats the spot next to him, and Willow joins him on the couch.
“For the last two weeks, at least one of you has been with me damn near 24/7. It’s not that I don’t appreciate checking in and making sure I’m okay, it’s just that it’s becoming suffocating. And I say that with love because this is a new normal we all have to work through. I haven’t even really had time to process … everything, and I think it would be good for me to just sit, alone, with my thoughts. Even if it sucks. I promise I’ll keep up with the group chat, though.”
It’s a compromise, and I’m really proud of him for doing it.
“That works. I’m sorry we didn’t give you time in the hospital, and I’ll tell Ledg and Rina to chill. Love you, Lenny. Call me if you need anything.” She hugs him gently before kissing the crown of his head and standing up to walk to me.
“You can call me too. Grind Time is opening back up Monday, so I can have lunch and coffee here whenever, if you want it.”
“Thanks, man. Love you too, Will.”
I nod to him as Willow hesitates. I put my hand on her back, leading her back to the front door.
“Call anytime, seriously,” she says.
