“Have you met my girl?” Zevon joked. “She’s pretty quiet. I’m guessing she hasn’t told you much of anything.”
“She knows the basics,” I yawned. “But not about you. Or Dominic.”
“Or your brother.”
“I know some about her brother, thank you very much,” Sawyer stated. “So who are you to her?”
“Sawyer!”
“Fine, I’ll drop it. For now.”
There wasn’t too much said between the three of us as Zevon sat hot pancakes, toast, and everything else that would be needed on the table. He waited for me to fill my plate before getting some for himself. Sawyer wisely didn’t comment, digging in. I knew she had a number of things she wanted more than anything to spout off.
“Thanks for cooking,” I said around a mouthful of food as I finished what was on my plate.
“Of course. It’s one thing I can do right these days.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Sage is…it’s not going well, is all.”
“Who’s Sage?”
“My pet,” Zevon said, cutting his eyes to her. “The less you know, the better.”
“Or what? You’ll have to kill me?” she tried to joke, but her voice shook slightly.
“It’s a long story, Sawyer,” I said, turning back to Zevon. “And you’re doing just fine.”
“I highly doubt that. But enough about my issues. I’m here to step away from them,” he said. “What do you do for fun around here?”
“Uh, try to not have panic inducing nightmares, for one,” I deadpanned.
“There’s a movie theater a block over. And a few shops around town,” Sawyer said. “Plenty of fun stuff.”
“You know, I’m kinda boring. I’m not really up to going out at the moment.” I didn’t think I’d make it down to the street with how tired I was.
“I brought a few new movies over here yesterday. Watch one,” Sawyer said, standing from the table. “But I need to head out. Got to get to work, and hopefully on time.”
“Will you be coming back?” Zevon asked, eyeing her.
“I always do,” she answered. “I’ll pop in after my shift and go from there.”
“Thank you, for everything,” I said, giving her a sad smile. She’d never be able to understand how thankful I was.
“You know I’ll be here anytime you need it.” She gave me a small sideways hug.
Within seconds, she was gone, leaving an empty feeling in my apartment. I began to gather up the dirty dishes and carry them to the sink. Zevon was quick to follow.
This past week had been the hardest for me since things had changed, most of them to do with what was in my mind. There were still so many secrets within the family, and over half of them still walked on eggshells any time they talked to me over the phone.
“Hey,” Zevon said, placing a hand on my arm and pulling me out of my thoughts. His eyes glanced between mine as he debated what to say. “Go sit down. I’ll take care of the rest. You’re dead on your feet, pretty girl.”
“But—“
“Go sit.”
Ducking my head, I did as he said. Truthfully, I wanted to crawl into the couch and disappear into a sleep-filled world for days. I was so tired, but I knew it wasn’t going to find me.
