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She let out a frustrated sigh and nodded. She held out her bag with her clothes in it while she kept her laptop and her usual shoulder bag close to her. He placed it on his shoulder, and he led the way to the door. He opened it wide and gestured to the doorway. "Ladies first."
She moved through the door and waited for Renly to join her in the hallway after he closed Blaine's door. As she waited, she glanced over the balcony and breathed a sigh of relief when she didn't spot anyone in the living room or the kitchen. She wanted to slip out as quietly as possible.
"You never told me what Blaine said to you," Renly stated when they both got to the bottom of the stairs.
"It doesn't matter."
"Do you want me to talk to him about it? I don't like seeing you ups—"
"No!" she hissed, interrupting him. "I can handle my own problems, thank you very much."
He shut his mouth, but Mykie didn’t miss the sigh that escaped his lips. She stopped in the living room to grab her heels last night and reluctantly slipped them back on. She cursed herself again for not thinking of grabbing sneakers and Jezebeth for convincing her to wear them in the first place.
She took a moment to appreciate the view of the backyard through the glass doors. The northeast usually experienced colder weather starting in November, especially in the last few years. She crossed her fingers that the coming snowstorm would pass over their area, but the weather forecast was seeming to predict the opposite.
The patio was done with wooden planks and there was gear for cooking out and an outdoor table area set up. She wondered how often the boys sat out there during the year. There was a paved path, too, that led into the woods. She wondered where it went to, and whether Blaine had ever taken his nature photos in there. Was that why it was paved? Because Blaine spent so much time exploring it? She noted to herself that she’d have to check it out sometime whenever she came back to the house. That was, if she was invited back after the conversation she would have with them.
The lawn was mowed recently, it appeared, and she spotted some well-kept bushes a little way out in front of another building. It was close to the beginning of the woods, giving it more of a cozy feeling than the house she was currently standing in. It was built with the same materials as this house, but it was much smaller. If Mykie had to guess, it probably fit one master bedroom, a bathroom, kitchenette area, and a living room.
“What’s that for?” she asked, pointing.
Renly followed her gaze. “It’s a guest house. My family stays there whenever they come to visit or during holidays, if Caspar is staying here. It was built after my dad gave me this house. It’s locked unless they’re here, otherwise I would have offered you that room last night.”
She looked at him. “Does Caspar stay often?”
His expression was neither happy nor sad. Just accepting, as if he was expecting the question eventually. “Depends on the time of year. He’s welcome to stay as long as he likes when he does, though.”
She nodded. It was a topic she’d have to ask Caspar about, then. If she was going to protect him, she needed to know what exactly she’d be up against. Possibly offer him a place to stay if his room with Renly ever didn’t work out anymore. He’d eventually have to come to a point that he started leaning on her whenever he needed help. Being a Hatchling now, it was what she was there for, and it was what the Cantil expected her to do. If it ever got back to them that she wasn’t doing her job by providing what she could for him, they’d think he was at fault. She didn’t want to risk having the Cantil find out that her claim was nothing more than her misspeaking one day. She had to convince them that this decision was thought out and wasn’t to be questioned, and it was up to Caspar to help her prove that.
Now that she had everything, she went out to her car with Renly. She put her shoulder bag in the passenger seat and opened up the door behind the driver's seat to slide her laptop bag inside. She turned around and grabbed the handle of the duffle bag Renly held out. He resisted letting it go at first, but with a gentle tug, he relinquished his hold. She tossed it inside before stepped back and slamming the door closed.
"When will I see you again?" he asked.
She didn't turn around, afraid to see his expression and start questioning herself.
"I don't know. Text me, since you apparently stole my phone number." She smirked and winked at him before she climbed into her car.
"I should probably apologize for last night. I got a little possessive at the end, didn't I?" He chuckled.
"A little?" she joked. "I couldn't believe you got that drunk last night. I thought after Friday, you could handle any amount of alcohol."
He rubbed the back of his neck. "Ah. I wasn't drinking as fast as you were. Last night...I was trying to blow off some steam after Caspar came back and suggested that he was with you."
"Don’t be jealous," she murmured. "We were only talking. Nothing happened."
She was lying, but she reasoned that it was to avoid getting into a deeper conversation about it. If she tried now, she’d want to spill all of the beans, and she couldn’t have that happen.
"If what you suggested is to work out, you shouldn’t have to explain what you do with one or another of us," he responded, leaning on the top of the car.
"Mykie?" A lighter voice said before she could respond. Mykie turned her gaze away from Renly and towards her front windshield. Through the glass, she spotted Corbus standing at the end of her car, one hand holding an earphone near his ear. His brown hair was matted down on his head and his glasses gone. It allowed her to see the brown in his eyes much clearer than usual.
"Why does it seem like I'm always catching you just before you leave?" he jested.
"Because I'm always running away from my problems instead of facing them?" she joked back. “I’m glad to see that you’re feeling better this morning.”
Corbus leaned his head back and laughed. It was so easy to make him laugh, but she knew her face lit up every time she accomplished it. It made her feel special whenever she heard it.
"Maybe you can come running with me one morning," he suggested. He rubbed the back of his neck as he peered in her direction.
