She flushes so deeply that I can almost feel the heat. “No.”
‘What… oh.Now I’m blushing, too. Clearing my throat, I push my glasses up my nose.
“Clothes,” she mumbles. She doesn’t look at me. “That would probably… probably work. And maybe… like a tent, almost? With lights... I don’t know. Kind of like stars, I guess. Like the night sky. That sounds nice.”
A tent. I sketch out ideas in my mind, trying not to think about her burying into a nest of our clothes when she’s spread over me. “Okay. That sounds like a…a good nest.”
“I’ll learn, I guess.” She sighs. “When I get one.”
“You don’t need tolearnanything, Ken.” The words escape with a ferocity that has her glancing up at me. “You’re perfect just as you are. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.”
Ever.
Oscar
Abramsgivesmeaside-eye, still looking shell shocked. “I’ll need you to let her go, so I can examine her.”
“Not happening.” My tone says enough. “Check her here.”
He frowns, but it softens as he leans in toward Kenny. She shrinks back into me. “It’s okay. You remember Abrams, right?”
She met him before. Spent a lot of time with him, while we were being assholes.
Her nod is slow. “Hey, Doc. Long time no see. I guess.”
He surveys her, eyebrows flicking up. But his smile is broad. “It’s good to see you. You remember the routine? It hasn’t changed.”
She nods. All of us watch closely as he runs through a series of tests. Kenny follows them almost without thought, and the realization of how many times she sat through this alone hits me in the chest again.
Never again.
“Well,” Abrams says finally as he straightens. “It’s official. You’re a medical miracle.”
Kenny’s hair hides her expression from me. But her small words hit hard, nonetheless. “I don’t want to be a medical miracle, Doc. I just want to go—,”
She cuts off, and her next words are even smaller. “Is the trailer still there?”
“You’re coming home with us,” I say instantly. “But yes. We spoke to the landlord. We weren’t sure if you might want to see it.”
My lips brush her ear. “I promised you a home. You’ve got one, Ken. With us.”
Like hell will any of us let her go back up there. We’ll give her all the space she needs.
Athome.I look at Abrams. “How soon can we get her out of here?”
His face twists with familiar displeasure. “The board will want to see an assessment.”
I didn’t think it was possible, but Kenny plasters herself back into me. And her scent – I can almost taste it, it’s so strong. All of us straighten at her distress. My body instinctively curves over hers. And then I understand why, when her tiny words slip out. “Do you… do you think I might go back?”
No.The denial, the reassurance, sticks on my tongue, refusing to leave my lips. We all look to Abrams instead, even as her words linger in my mind.
Something about them—
I force myself to focus. Abrams looks thoughtful. “I don’t think so. Everything about your numbers suggests you’ve been heading here for months. I haven’t seen any sign of them receding. We did a lot of work into the research side. Nothing there suggested you might have a relapse, but I’ll want to keep seeing you for a while, just to check in.”
“Okay,” she whispers. I run my hand over her hair again. Reassuring. Her or me. Beside us, Jake keeps one hand, Max the other. And Theo—
He watches, his eyes not leaving her face. “What do we need to do for her, Doc?”
