She tells me about everything she wishes to do when she finishes NU as we walk back to her apartment. It’s a long walk, but she doesn’t stop talking. She tells me about how she’s excited to see her dad again when he’s home and I tell her that I’d want to meet him too at some point.
She tells me how she wants to get cats when she has her own place, and we argue over her being a cat person and me preferring dogs. Really, I could be convinced into being a cat person if she wants one so badly. After seeing her with Mila, I’m sure I could convince her too.
Even when our throats dry, my feet are aching and she’s laughing at her own jokes, I wouldn’t change it for the world.
As I stand with her outside her apartment door, she shoves her hands into her coat pockets, neither of us wanting the night to end.
“You know what you said earlier?” she asks. I hum in response. “Would you really do anything for me, or were you just saying that?”
“Anything,” I say.
She laughs quietly, her hair brushing in front of her face a little. “You’d even steal a whiteboard for me?”
I groan, throwing my head back. “How many times are we going to have this conversation, Angel? I didn’t steal your damn whiteboard.”
“Oh, so you’d doanythingfor me, but stealing is where you draw the line?” she retorts, her cheeks flaming as her hands fall to her side. “What if I was being attacked, or stalked, and my stalker had a collection of whiteboards, a fetish of some sorts. You’d have to steal one to prove to the police that your girlfriend isn’t crazy. What then, Branson, huh?What.” She pushes me in the chest. “Then.”
Girlfriend.That word does something insane to my insides. It sits on my chest nicely, like a warm fuzzy cat making itself at home.My girlfriend, Scarlett.I love the sound of that.
“So, you’re my girlfriend, now, huh?” I mock.
She rolls her eyes. “That’s beside the point. I want to know if what you said was actually true.”
I grip her chin in my hand, watching the surprise wash across her face as her eyes search mine. I bring my face closer to hers, nudging our noses together as she takes in a deep breath.
“Yeah,” I murmur against her lips, “I’d steal it for you,tesoro.”
Her eyes widen in surprise. “Did you just call me-”
I silence her with a kiss. “Just shut up.”
44
Scarlett
I don’t think I’ve ever felt this light and freeing in my life. The doctors have finally cleared my dad to go back home, and I haven’t been able to see him since he woke up. According to my mom, he’s been begging for us all to get together again and I want to be back at home.
Arthur gave me a dirty look when I walked through the doors, but I held my ground and my head high. He’s always been protective over me, but he’s started to just become an annoying leech. Even after all that went down, he’s not bothered to ask if I’m okay even if I was trapped in a room with a murderer. I know we’re never going to have a perfect relationship and I can live like that. I’ve got Henry and Leo when I need them, knowing they’ll always have my back. And Alex too, when he’s available to talk given the time difference.
Seeing my dad here, walking around, smiling is something I didn’t think I would see. As much as I tried to be optimistic, the possible reality was terrifying. I never thought I’d see him work a barbecue again. I never thought I’d see him smile as I surprised him at work. I never thought I’d hear him sing while spinning my mom around in the kitchen.
No matter how tense our relationship gets or how many times I’ve felt ignored by him, I’ve always known his intentions were good. All he’s wanted is to keep me safe which is why I was surprised he didn’t scream at me for putting myself in danger multiple times just to find out what happened to him. It’s all been worth it though. To be in my dad’s arms right now, neither of us saying anything as we hold on tight to each other, all of the pain has been worth it.
“Where’s your boyfriend? I thought he was coming,” my dad says when he pulls out of the hug, looking around the room as if Evan was just going to turn up out of thin air. That lasted longer than I thought. After keeping small talk just that —small— I knew my nosy family would be wondering about me finally finding my person.
“Word gets around here fast, doesn’t it,” I mutter, shooting Henry a look as I move out of my dad’s arms. He shrugs, innocently, downing a glass of orange juice.
“Not really. It was kind of obvious after the way he came rushing after you at the hospital,” Leo says, puffing a cloud of smoke into the air.
My mom walks behind him, pulling the joint from his lips and he frowns.
Everyone’s in here now: my dad sitting on the stool next to the island, my mom behind him rubbing his shoulders, Leo by the counter with a fresh joint in his hand and Henry by the fridge, eating as much as he can. There has nothing I’ve missed quite as much as I’ve missed this chaotic, brilliant, and wonderful family. They’re justmyfamily. My perfectly imperfect family who are surprisingly okay with me dating someone they would have despised months ago, no matter how desperate my mom was to get me into a relationship.
“Why are you guys so chill about it?” I ask, looking between my brothers and my parents. Arthur is off brooding in the corner, being a complete baby about this. “You do know he’s a Branson, right?”
“We know, but I know he likes you. A lot. He always has,” my mom says, beaming at me dreamily. It’s been her dream for years for me to get into a stable relationship and now that I’m finally in one, she can’t stop smiling like a Cheshire cat.
“What do you mean,always?” I ask, confused. They must have been able to pick up on the fact we were faking it last time. It doesn’t take a genius. My mom’s smile is so wide I don’t know how her face doesn’t crack.
