A small smirk appears at the corner of his lips. “I’ll just be a minute,” he says, slipping into his part in the script of our origin story. He grabs the key off the desk, then takes a few steps towards me, stopping out of arm’s reach.
“Listen,Prison Break,you’re blocking the entrance.” I tilt forward, projecting nothing but reassurance from my eyes.
Stevie clears her throat. “Uh, actually… your car is fine there.”
I stifle a laugh, and Warren grins crookedly as he closes the gap between us.
“You came to find me, dove?” His deep voice is a whisper. His eyes pleading.
“We agreed to the ends of the earth, right? This isn’t so bad… only the other side of the city.” I shrug, faking confidence.
“I’m so sorry.” Warren gives one loud sniff, and I notice his eyes become glossy.
“Hey… Let’s go to the room, okay? Willow is with Emily. Luke is home safe and sound. He rescheduled his friends. It’s all sorted. Let’s go talk.”
I wave a hand to thank Stevie, who looks confused but thoroughly entertained. Warren and I don’t speak as we walk along the front of the motel, passing several rooms before we get to ours.
We brush the snow off our jackets as we enter. It’s not the gross, seedy motel room I’d presumed, but a quaint, simply decorated room with one bed, a kitchenette, and an en suite. I slip my heavy jacket off and leave my boots by the door. I watch Warren hang his jacket and stay facing the coat rack for far too long, his shoulders rigid.
“Warren…” I say, hoping to snag his attention from the thoughts that hold him in place away from me. When he finally turns, I reach my arms around his neck and pull him into a tight embrace. “You okay?” I mumble into his shoulder.
He shakes his head.
I pull away enough to look up at the man I love. He looks worn, like he’s been battling hard throughout the day. I want to kiss the sadness right off his face.
“I’m so sorry, Chloe,” he says. He chokes back on a few tears. “I’m so sorry. I let my anger get the best of me and—”
I stop him with a kiss, gentle and swift.
“I know, babe, it’s okay. You’re allowed to make mistakes.” I remove my arms and sit on the edge of the bed. “I went to see Al, who looked remarkably untouched. You didn’t take your anger out on him—that matters.”
“You met my dad?” Warren leans forward.
“Yeah, super fun guy…” I joke but wince at the memory. “You described him well.” Warren slumps down on the bed next to me, a person’s width away.
“And Luke?” he asks warily.
“Luke’s okay.” I offer him a reassuring nod. “He doesn’t want to move out. Never did.” A heavy exhale passes Warren’s lips, trilling them as he presses his forehead into his palms. “He thought he had to in order to keep your dad from moving out of the city. We talked about it, and he knows now that it wasn’t the right call…” My voice trails off.
“I hate that I did this on his birthday. I’m a shitty brother for that.” He sits up.
“Warren…” I don’t have the right words.
“This is the first birthday Luke’s had while with me… and I ruined it. Then I scared Willow… and you.” He rubs a flat palm across his head. “I’m really sorry.”
“I know you are… and I forgive you. But…” I exhale slowly and choose my words carefully, “you’re right, you did scare us. Next time, you need to take a lap or sort yourself out before it escalates that far. We can’t do that in front of Willow as she gets older. We have to show her better.” I rest my hand on top of his, his knuckles pink and sore.
“But I do understand. You’ve given up a lot for Luke. Your music, your privacy, your whole adulthood has been about getting Luke out of the system. It must have felt like it was all for nothing. And for it to be your dad who tries to ruin what you built? I cannot imagine how awful that must have felt.”
Warren’s nose twitches as a single tear falls down his cheek. He looks towards me with the quickest of glances, but his lips tremble as he looks away, and a sob makes its way out.
“Luke will have other birthdays,” I go on. “You did make it special… the breakfast, the gifts, the balloons. He’ll still go celebrate with his friends another day. You’ll both just have to talk it out.”
His free hand rubs his chin. He nods, then turns away, bowing his head. “I saw Will’s face when she started crying and—” he cuts himself off, voice shaking. He clears his throat. “I’ll never do anything that stupid again.”
“The stupid thing was running away, Warren.” I scoot closer to him, leaning my head into his chest as his arm wraps around my back. “I love scavenger hunts as much as the next girl but please don’t leave again, okay? Or, if you do need the space to cool off, bring a charged phone along for the ride.” I lean back to see him.
Warren looks down at his lap. “When you told me to leave… I thought you meant forever.”
