“What time is it?” I asked, my voice sleep-rough.
“Six.”
“Char up?”
“Not yet.”
“Don’t go too far. I’m gonna get breakfast going.”
It would be good for me to have something to focus on so I could not fixate on Alara. On how the kids would be off to school eventually, leaving us home alone. With all the temptation between us. And nothing to stop us. Save for my increasingly shaky hold on my morals.
So I got up, cleaned up the bedding, and got the coffee started.
By the time Liam came back, I had a big bowl of pancake batter at the ready, bacon in the oven, and was cracking eggs into a bowl.
“Alara’s gonna be jealous about this,” I said, nodding toward where the dog was following him like a shadow.
“I tried to push him out last night so he could go see her. He just kept whining and scratching. Can I feed him?”
“I guess so. I don’t know his schedule yet.” But he did seem to be sniffing around.
“Thanks for walking him. You’ve really been stepping up a lot lately. I appreciate it.”
“I like it here,” he admitted. “Didn’t think I would when you were planning it.”
That made sense. Why he’d been so difficult. So distant. Not only because he lost his mom, but because he was being forced to leave behind his childhood home, his town, his friends. But also why he’d had such a dramatic change in the few weeks we’d been in the city.
“You don’t miss it?”
“The old house?”
“Yeah. And friends.”
“Didn’t really have a lot of friends. None of ‘em have texted me since I left. The house…”
“Is complicated.”
“Yeah. It was home, but…”
“Yeah, I get it. There were a lot of ups and downs there. Especially close to the end.”
There was a thunk from the bedroom, followed by a grumble and several clunking footsteps.
“Alara’s up.”
When I looked back at him, I noticed him watching me.
“What?” I asked.
“Nothing.”
“No, say it.”
“What’s the problem?”
“The problem with what?” I asked as Alara’s door opened and she hobbled out. Her hair was a wavy mess around her pillow-creased face. Her eyes were swollen, and her bruises looked even darker than the day before.
“Not a morning person, huh?” I asked when she shot us a small-eyed look as she passed. She made some sort of noise that had a chuckle escaping me. “Did you just hiss?”
