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“I’ve noticed,” I said, watching as she put one foot on the bottom of the cart and used the other to push off so she could coast down the aisle.
“You ask her for help,” he said, looking at me. “And she’ll move heaven and earth to do it.”
“And I asked her to help me choose some bedding,” I said in understanding.
“She takes that shit seriously,” he said, nodding. “Too serious sometimes, but hey. There are worse things. She probably just wanted to make sure you got the best, since you went to the trouble of asking for help.”
“Hell,” I said, rubbing the back of my neck. “It was mostly just an excuse to spend time with her.”
Draco laughed. “Clearly.”
We caught up to the women as they reached the check stands and pulled out our wallets to pay for the odds and ends they’d found throughout the store.
“You don’t need to pay for my stuff,” Charlie said, hopping a little to look over my shoulder as I moved to keep myself between her and the cashier. “Seriously. I can get it.”
“Consider it payment for your help.”
“Ew,” she replied, trying to duck under my arm as I paid the cashier. “I don’t want you to pay me.”
“Fine, I’m not payin’ you,” I said, handing her the little glass bowl and tank top she’d picked out. “Just take the gift and say thank you.”
Charlie glared at me, the items held against her chest. “Oh, how the tables have turned.”
I smiled, grabbing my sheets and pillows from the counter.
The ride home was loud as fuck, with Charlie and Kara arguing in the back seat about where we should grab dinner and Draco turning up the radio to drown them out. I had a feeling it was a common occurrence because the thumping speakers didn’t even slow them down. At least I had a little more room in the front seat and I could stretch out my legs a little. They decided on fast food and I ignored my disappointment. I’d planned on taking Charlie to dinner after shopping, but since the moment Draco and Kara had walked in the front door shit had definitely gone sideways. Making a decision, I relaxed into my seat and let it go. There would be plenty of time to hang with Charlie without them there, and if I was being honest, it was pretty fucking fun hanging out with the entire group.
“I’m going to throw your sheets in the washing machine,” Charlie said as soon as we got home. “You don’t want to sleep on them before you wash them. Ick.”
“Oh, let me know when they’re done, Charles,” Kara said as she kicked off her shoes. “And throw down any towels from your bathroom. I’m going to wash a load of them.”
“Cool,” Charlie replied. “I will.”
“I can do it,” I said as Charlie pulled the sheets out of my hands.
“I’m not making a habit of doing your laundry,” she replied dryly. She handed me her things from the store. “Will you put these on my bed real quick? I’ll just throw these sheets in. You can put them in the dryer when it’s time, okay?”
Draco and Kara went off to their room and I stood for a moment in the entryway after Charlie walked off to wash my new sheets. I’d lived in a lot of houses, but the vibe in this one was different than anywhere I’d ever been. The three of them just kind of meshed together and I figured Curtis fit right in with that when he was home. I knew already that there wouldn’t be any weird shit like individual shelves for each person in the fridge or bitching that someone had used someone else’s stuff.
Jogging up the stairs with my pillows and Charlie’s stuff in my hands, I smiled as I heard Kara laughing somewhere downstairs. I could live anywhere, I’d made it work in everything from shitty studio apartments to trailers to prison, but I still couldn’t help the little jolt of contentment that hit when I realized that I’d landed somewhere good this time. Talk about luck, landing in the same cell as Draco Harrison.
After putting Charlie’s things on her bed, I went to my room and threw my bags on the bare mattress. I didn’t have much anymore, but thankfully when I’d been put away an old friend had stored some of my shit in her garage and since then I’d added to it here and there. First things first, I pulled out a couple of picture frames from the top of my duffle bag and set them on top of the dresser.
In the first photo, me and Uncle Beau stood in front of a river, holding up a stringer of fish that I’d been obscenely proud of at the time. Uncle Beau was wearing his signature half smile, his eyes pointed down at me, and I was grinning so wide that it pretty much distorted the rest of my face. The second photo was just me and my mom. I guessed I was around two, maybe a little younger, and I was sitting on her lap. Her hair was hanging down and you couldn’t see much of her face, but what you could see looked just like mine did now. The same cheekbones and chin. Same smile. It was wild to me that I was older now than she’d been in the photo.
