Resting my hands on Elio’s shoulders, I leaned down to kiss the top of his head. “How are you feeling, baby?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know what else I could’ve possibly expected, honestly.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. It’s still hard, though. You see Christina again tomorrow, right?”
“Mhm, and you see Mark the day after?”
“Mhm. Maybe we should get Moon to look into therapy, too.”
“Yes, definitely.” Elio turned in the chair, looking up at me. “But that’s for another day. For now…” His lips began to lift, a smile curving them. “Care to pose for me?”
I raised an eyebrow at him curiously. “Now? Baby, we have so much prep to do for the dinner, and painting takes so long.”
“Not for me to paint on canvas, silly. We have a brand-new mattress to stain. What do you think about ocean blue, hm?”
For someone who blushed so easily, he sure was good at makingmedo it. “Fuck, baby. Jesus.”
“Can I take that as a yes?”
“Only if it’s forest green again. I kind of miss those stains.”
He stood, cupping my face and pulling it to his. “Now that, I can work with.” When our lips came together, our smiles melding into one, everything felt right in the universe.
Within our raging souls was the certainty that we were always meant to be. Two puzzle pieces fitting together.
Lavender incenseand chicken alfredo didn’t mix very well. Only one stick was lit, but it was enough to fill up almost the entire downstairs of the house with the scent. Mom appreciated it, though.
Star and Mom were laughing at the other end of the table, at a joke the rest of us didn’t seem to be privy to. Dad was nodding along, pretending he understood exactly what they were saying, but by the look on their faces, they were onto him. Dad had never been great at bullshitting. Moon had kept mostly quiet, which worried Elio and me both. He wouldn’t talk about it, though, and since he wouldn’t talk about it, we couldn’t help.
Once everyone had finished eating, pushing their plates away from them, Elio turned his head to me. There was a question on his face, one I’d been prepared for all night. “Go ahead, baby. I’ll get everyone into the living room.”
He smiled, rushing away to go upstairs while I tried to herd everyone together. “Let’s head to the living room, guys. Try out our brand-new sectional.”
Mom was up almost immediately, holding her plate in her hand. “I can get the dishes for you first, honey.”
“No, Mom, that’s okay. Elio and I can do them later, or maybe I’ll get Star and Moon on them.”
Star looked at me, her eyes narrowed. “You wouldn’t dare. I just got these nails done!”
“I could, and I would. Poor thing can’t sacrifice a little chipped nail polish to do her favorite big brother a favor?”
Moon huffed. “Favorite big brother? Yeah, okay. You better watch out, Cres. I know where you sleep.”
“Yeah.” Star pointed a finger at me. “You don’t live too far from campus, you know. I could always sneak in here and, like, replace all your food with beets and asparagus.”
“Or,” Moon countered. “I could come in and steal your preciousOne Piecemanga collection.”
I gasped, placing a hand over my heart. “No the fuck you wouldn’t. You take that back.”
“Never.”
“You wouldn’t dare touch?—”
“Enough, kids!” Dad’s stern voice was honestly terrifying. It was rare that he ever had to use it, so when he did, it struck fear into all of us. “Crescent, please show us to your living room. We would all love to check out this sectional you mentioned.”
I pushed away from my chair, leading them all into the room. We didn’t have a TV yet, but we were lucky enough to have found a new couch and bookshelf that fit perfectly in the space.
That wasn’t the real reason I was leading them in there, though. Right in the middle of the room, Elio stood. Next to him was his easel, a large painting sitting on it.
