But I didn’t sleep well without her last night. Not at all. Even her pile of blankets in the Center felt more comfortable than my own bed, because she was there.
***
I excuse myself for a shower after dinner, scrubbing off the day’s work. With my towel around my waist, I slip into my bedroom.
Pausing, my eyes sweep the room. It feels… disturbed, somehow. As if someone was just here. Weird.
I toss on a pair of sweatpants before heading downstairs. Max falls into step behind me. “Have you seen Kenny? I thought she’d gone up to the nest, but she’s not in there.”
My feet stop. “Maybe?”
“What does that mean?” He follows as I turn around and retrace my steps, heading back to my bedroom. This time, I pay more attention, breathing in.
Cherries and chocolate.
I keep my movements slow as I pull my closet door open. Big brown eyes stare back at me. Kenny’s eyes lower to where her hands are wrapped around her knees. One of my hoodies is wrapped around her shoulders like a blanket. “I… I can explain this, I promise.”
“You don’t need to explain,” I say gently. “You like my closet, you can stay in it. But if there’s something wrong with the nest, I’d like to fix it for you.”
She holds out her arms silently. Gathering her up, I lift her out and she wraps her arms around my neck. “It doesn’t smell right.”
“What do you need it to smell like?” Max asks. I follow her eyes, back to the closet.
“Us,” I say quietly. “You need it to smell like us?”
And we’ve never stayed in it. Keeping it perfectly preserved for the day she came home.
She nods, but the tension doesn’t leave her body. My lips press to her hair. “Talk to us, Kenny. We want to give you what you need.”
She bites down. “Will you stay with me? In the nest?”
My heart jumps. “Yes. Whenever you want me to. Tonight? You want everyone?”
Her head dips in a nod.
“Okay then. How about a movie first? Or a game? Or are you tired now?”
“Not tired.” She settles her cheek against me. It seems to be her preferred spot against any of us, I’ve realized. “I was just… stressing. And it felt safe in there.”
I squeeze her gently. “You come to me if you’re stressed. Or any of us, and we’ll fix it for you. Promise me.”
She’s not used to that. My mind flashes to her closet, up in the trailer. Small. Enclosed.
And I wonder how many times she’s crawled into a small space alone, trying to recreate a nest.
Fucking hell. My heart.
“I promise. I might not always remember.”
“I’ll remind you. Every time.”
She lifts her face to mine. “Thank—,”
Absolutely not.
I cut her off with my lips.
I don’t mean to. But it feels – natural. So perfectly natural to brush my lips over hers, swallowing the small sound she makes. Our lips just… fit.
