Page 88 of After the Burn

Paused.

Like the family who’d once called this house home had every intention of coming back.

A sharp knock rattled the front door.

Lucas, Adrian, and Beck made their way back to the living room with me close on their heels.

Beck reached for the pistol in his belt as Lucas opened the door.

“I brought presents!” Wren stumbled inside, carrying so many things she could barely see over the pile.

“What the fuck?” Lucas growled as he was pushed out of the way, nearly falling.

“Wren! What are you doing here?” I asked, trying to smother my laughter at the look on Lucas’s face.

Max let out a joyous bark, shocking all of us.

The pile of treasures hit the floor as Wren laughed and dropped to her knees. “There you are, Wiggles.”

Max crashed into her chest hard enough to nearly knock her over.

“Oh!” she giggled, wrapping both arms around his neck. “I knew you’d remember me.” Max enthusiastically licked her nose. “I should’ve known you would come back with Robin. You two have always been inseparable.”

Beck folded his arms and scowled at her. “You’ve known him for about ten seconds, and his name is Max.”

“No.” She scratched behind my dog’s ears. “I helped Robin name him after our favorite show from our childhood.”

Max rolled onto his back; demanding belly rubs as if confirming all of the ridiculousness she’d just spouted.

“Traitor,” Beck muttered.

I bit my lip to keep from laughing. Apparently, this was Wren’s world, and we were all just living in it.

Once Max had been sufficiently adored, Wren seemed to remember why she’d come.

“Oh!” Wren bent to gather the things she’d dropped. “I brought you a few housewarming gifts.” She held up a stainless-steel spoon that had seen better days.

Not a set.

Just…

A spoon.

“…thank you?” I mumbled. It sounded more like a question than a statement.

“And a lamp!”

It was missing the shade… and a bulb.

“And this!” she proudly presented a bright pink pillow embroidered with a unicorn wearing sunglasses.

We all stared.

None of us knew what to do with this.

“I found it months ago,” Wren kept on as if all of this was perfectly normal. “I knew when you came back, you’d love it.”

Before I could respond and once again try to convince her I wasn’t Robin, she reached back into the pile.