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As a peace offering, I’d picked some ice cream sandwiches from the freezer before heading to them. They were Mia’s, so I was using her stuff as the offering, but I didn’t have much else to go on.
I walked outside and saw them sitting on the porch steps. Zach had his arm over Mia’s shoulders, and she was nestled against her brother. They were silent, just enjoying each other’s company. That was Zach’s primary way of calming someone. He’d be quiet and let the other person take the lead either to vent, yell, or just be. His presence was serene enough to calm us down, no matter how mad we were.
They didn’t need to look back to know it was me approaching. “I’m not really in the mood to talk to you right now. I might still say something hurtful, it’s not safe yet.”
“I’ll take my chances. If you lose your mind, I most certainly deserve it.”
She stared up at me with annoyed eyes, trying to conceal her hurt, as I sat on the other side of her. “Don’t be humble. I’m mad at you, I want to be mad, and you’ll ruin this experience for me if you’re apologetic.”
Zach and I chuckled before I waved my full hands. “I come bearing gifts.” They looked at my treats unimpressed, and Mia raised one single eyebrow. Once again, that raised eyebrow was intimidating. “I didn’t wanna lose my window of opportunity to talk to you by going out to buy something.”
“I don’t need your gifts.” She huffed...as she snatched one sandwich from my hand.
As I gave the other to Zach, he turned to his sister. “I’ll let you two talk. I’ll pick up Gabe and Haley from Mom and Dad’s. She needed to, uhm...buy some stuff, and I promised Gabe I’d play soccer with him, so we might be a little late. I’ll bring them tonight, okay?”
“Sure. I’ll leave the front porch light on for you.” She inclined her head so he could kiss her cheek.
He did so and stood up. “Don’t forget to lock the door.”
“I won’t. Love you.”
“I love you, too.” Then he looked at me. They always did that. Whenever one of them would say those words, they’d look at me, including me in their professed feelings, without making me feel self-conscious or pressed to say it back.
When we heard the door being closed, she unwrapped her snack. “Where is Izzie?”
“I think she’s watching TV with that furry beast.”
Mia eyed me sideways. “Badmouthing Hugo won’t get you in my good graces.”
“I know, I’m sorry. Izzie is with the goodest boy. She wanted to give us privacy to talk.”
She stayed silent, and I didn’t know how to approach the subject. She let me take my time to organize my thoughts. Maybe that was a Bryant thing.
“I shouldn’t have said that.” I took a bite of the cold desert and munched on it. “I trust you with my life. Our lives. It’s just...I freaked out. I know it’s not an excuse, but...” I sighed deeply. I wasn’t sure how to explain my feelings without showing her my fears. Which was stupid. She’d seen me at my absolute worst. She watched my many mistakes and helped me fix them. I wanted to be more open about what I felt. I promised Isabella I’d try, and I owed them both that.
“Maybe I was naive, but I thought this was over and he belonged in my ugly past. Now he’s back, targeting my family. Again. Once again, you were the one standing up against him. He threatened you already, and the last time you had an encounter, he...” Even my sigh was broken. “I’m not only scared for Izzie. The last time you were together, he assaulted you and threatened you. He’s just done it again. What’ll happen next?” My shaken voice was a dead giveaway about my fears.
She looked at me with disbelief in her eyes. “Wait. So that’s what this is about?” She shook her head and mumbled while rolling her eyes. “Oh my God, you’re exhausting.”
“I’m serious!”
“And so am I. I can take care of myself. We all can. We’re not those clueless kids anymore. We grew up and made a name for ourselves. We were trained and tested, we’re experienced and smarter. Come on, we protect people for a living. We’re not winging it as we did back in the day. As we wereforcedto do.”
I haven’t thought about it that way. I was still seeing things from the beaten boy’s perspective, not from the grown professional.
“I understand this is disturbing. It’s been so long, and we’ve lived such a free life, now he’s back and old feelings are resurfacing.” She shrugged. “I think he’s your biggest dragon yet to be slayed, and now you have so much to lose.”
“I also had a lot to lose that day. I still do. Izzie and my baby are part of the family I’m building. But you, Zach, and your parents, hell, Haley and Gabe, you’re all my family. I’ve already almost lost it all.” I felt my heartbeat speeding up as I ran my free hand through my hair. “Now he’s back. Fuck, I believed this was over.” He needed to be stopped.
“We need to be smart about it. Treat it like a case we’re working on, and not a personal threat.”
“How are we supposed to do that?”
“I have no idea.” She snorted. “Right now, I’m treating it like a personal threat, and not a case we’re working on.”
“What do you think he’s doing back in town?”
She took in a deep breath and stared ahead. “You’re not gonna be happy about it.”
