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“Hell yeah, he did,” Mack replied. “If it helps, he looks far worse.”
“It helps,” I said darkly.
“You ready to say what all of that was about?”
“Nope.”
“Figured,” he replied, nodding.
“Curt knows,” I said, meeting his eyes.
He nodded again.
“You got lucky,” Rose said as she carried me over a plate of food. “I grabbed you and Kara food before everyone could jump in.”
“Thanks,” I said, glancing down at the heaping plate in front of me.
“Figured you’d be hungry after expending all that energy.”
I jerked my head up and met her eyes.
“Fighting with your brother,” she clarified, widening her eyes at me in warning.
Jesus Christ. I couldn’t even glance at Mack to see if he’d caught my reaction. What, was I fourteen?
“Did anyone end up staying at Grandma’s?” Kara asked as she sat down.
“Dragon and Brenna were staying in the house,” Rose answered. “Baby, you want coffee?” she asked Mack. At his nod, she went back toward the counter, still talking. “Poet and Amy were going to stay in the RV in the driveway.”
“Leo and Lily showed up,” Mack said. “Farrah and Casper went back to their place with ’em.”
“I think Charlie was going to stay at Callie’s, too,” Rose added. She looked at me. “Curtis headed back to stay with your parents.”
“That’s good,” I replied. “One more set of eyes to stay up—just in case.”
“These fires are fuckin’ nasty,” Mack said, shaking his head. “Can’t believe they still haven’t gotten a handle on ’em.”
“They’re so big,” Kara said as she started eating. “I don’t know how they’ll get them under control.”
I watched her. I couldn’t help myself. There’d been plenty of times since I’d been out that we’d sat down at the same table to eat, and it shouldn’t have been a big thing, but it still was. I’d spent so many hours, laying in my bed, picturing how it would be when I got out. I’d pictured little things, like driving with her next to me or laying on the couch watching a movie together or sitting down to a meal. Part of me still couldn’t believe that it was finally happening. I was finally done.
“Eat,” Rose said to me quietly as she leaned over the table to hand Mack his cup of coffee. As she leaned back, she gave my shoulder a squeeze.
“Thanks,” Mack said to Rose. He looked at Kara. “Your apartments still okay?”
“I think so,” she replied with a shrug. “I haven’t looked at my phone in a while. They wouldn’t really say, though, would they?”
“I’ll check the map,” I said, pulling out my phone.
“Your place will be fine,” Rose said, finally sitting down with her own cup of coffee. “They wouldn’t let it burn. Too many people live there. It’s Casper and Farrah’s place that’ll burn.”
“It wasn’t lookin’ good when we left,” Mack said, leaning back in his chair.
We all sat quietly for a moment. It was weird to think about my grandparents’ place no longer being there, but I had a feeling that it wouldn’t be considered a loss to some of the people in our circle. The shooting that happened there when my mom was pregnant with me and Curtis had pretty much ruined the place for most of our close family. If I had to guess, pure stubbornness was the only thing that had kept my grandparents there after it happened.
I looked back at my phone. “Our place is still in the red,” I told Kara. “But there’s no little fire icon, so hopefully, it’s not burning.”
We sat around the table, visiting while Kara and I ate, but as soon as we were done, her parents were, too.
“I have a feeling it’s going to be another long day tomorrow,” Rose said, standing up and stretching her arms above her head. “And that coffee didn’t do shit to wake me up.”
“Ready for bed?” Mack asked as he got to his feet.
Rose nodded as she grabbed my plate and brought it to the sink.
“Thanks,” I said, looking in her direction.
“You’re welcome,” she said, turning toward me. “Don’t expect me to do it again. This is the first time in a while you’ve eaten with us and you’re kind of a guest. Next time, you can take care of your own shit.”
I laughed. “Alright.”
As Kara took her plate to the sink, Mack looked at me.
“You’re sleepin’ on the couch,” he said flatly.
“Right,” I said quickly.
“I’d offer you one of the boys’ beds,” Rose said, making Mack glare at her. Apparently, that side of the house was off limits to me. I couldn’t really blame him. “But they’re little boys and they stink and I’m not changing the sheets for you. The couch is probably safer.”
“The couch works fine,” I replied. “Thanks for lettin’ me stay.”
“As if we had a choice,” Rose said, rolling her eyes. She looked over at Kara, who was surprisingly silent. “Night, kiddo. Love you.”
