Perrin exhales slowly through his nose, reaches across the table, and pulls his mug toward him with slightly more force than necessary. "Morning."
"Hope I’m not interrupting anything." Adam drops into one of the dining room chairs uninvited, the picture of pure innocence. He takes a long drink from his water bottle, then looks at me over the top of it with those warm honey-brown eyes, bright and genuinely pleased. "How'd you sleep, Elle?"
"Really well," I say, and I actually mean it.
Something in Adam's expression shifts at that. The teasing quality doesn't leave exactly, but something warmer moves in underneath it, and he holds my gaze for a moment longer than necessary before looking back down at his water bottle.
“Me too," he says simply. "The bed felt enormous. I spread out like a starfish and took up the whole thing." He holds his arms out as if to demonstrate. "It was amazing."
"Have you eaten anything yet?" Perrin asks, taking a slow drink of his coffee. "You can’t take your meds on an empty stomach.”
"In a minute," Adam says, waving a dismissive hand without looking at him. His eyes are still moving between me and Perrin with intense focus. "Your ears are red," he tells his brother.
Perrin doesn't even look at him. He sets his mug down, then pulls his phone out of his pocket. "I'm going into the shop this morning." He taps the screen checking his messages.
Adam frowns, like that’s a horrible idea. "Why?"
"Because I have a car to finish," Perrin says flatly. "I told the owner that I'd have their '68 Camaro donelast week." He grimaces slightly. "He's been very patient, but I'm running out of goodwill."
"What's wrong with it?" I ask.
Perrin looks at me, and something in his expression shifts with pleasant surprise, like he wasn't expecting the question. "Transmission rebuild," he says. "The previous owner ran it into the ground. It's a beautiful car, but the whole drivetrain needs attention." He tilts his head slightly. "Do you know cars?"
"A little," I say. "My dad used to work on this old Chevy on weekends. It was an old beater he'd found at auction. But I spent a lot of Saturday mornings handing him tools I didn't know the names of."
Perrin smiles wide. "Do you want to come with me? I mean, we'd have to ask Cliff first. But if he's okay with it?—"
"Yes," I say, before he's finished the sentence, the word coming out so fast that it even surprises me.
"Well, have fun, you two." Adam stands, stretching his arms above his head with a groan that suggests his run was longer than planned. He points at his brother without looking at him. "Don't bore her with transmission talk. You’re the only one who finds that shit interesting." He drops his hand and heads toward the hallway. "I'm going to shower."
"Eat something first," Perrin calls after him.
"In a minute," Adam calls back, his voice lifting, annoyed.
Perrin stares at the empty doorway for a second, then looks at me with the exhaustion of someone who has been having this exact argument for twenty-six years and has never once won it.
"I'll go ask Cliff," he says.
He turns to leave, and I think that's it. But thenPerrin stops, and pauses, just a breath or two, where he seems to be deciding something. Then he turns back, takes my face in his hand, and presses his lips to mine. Soft and warm and quick.
Then he's gone, his footsteps moving toward the stairs.
I stand there in the morning light, pressing my fingertips to my lips, and I'm smiling so hard it's starting to hurt my face.
Adam’s Room
Adam
My freaking pillbottle is empty.
Shit!
I tip it upside down over my palm anyway, give it a shake, and a few chalky flakes fall out. I stare at the dust for a second, then at the bottle.
"Fantastic," I mutter as I toss the empty Verenthicin bottle into the trash, and make a mental note to call Dr. Ellison's office the second they open. It's not the first time I've let the prescription run low, but it's the first time I've let it run out completely.
I take my other two pills, then head down the hall.
