I chuckle, turning back to her. “You’re living here, aren’t you? And let’s be honest, Brooks is probably going to be gone more than he’s around. So yeah—youshouldmake yourself comfortable. That couch practically begs for popcorn and a blanket.”
She rolls her eyes, but there’s no fire behind it. “Let’s just find my room.”
We move down the hallway. First door—Brandon’s room. His name is spray-painted across the wall in bold, graffiti-style letters. No mistaking that. I close the door gently behind me.
“Brandon,” I say softly, just to acknowledge it.
Next up, the bathroom. Big walk-in shower. Double sinks.
“Oh, you can keep your stuff in here,” I offer, holding the door for her.
Norah shakes her head. “I’ll just keep it in my room. I don’t want to take up their space.”
I frown. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m sure they wouldn’t care.”
“I’ll wait and see,” she mumbles, eyes fixed on her shoes.
Finally, we find the guest room. She tosses her bag on the bed without a word.
“This looks perfect,” she breathes.
I glance around the room, taking it in slowly. “It’s kind of bare,” I murmur, turning in place.
Norah shrugs and unzips her bag like she expected that. “It’s a guest room. It’ll fill up eventually.”
She moves with quiet focus—pulls out two pairs of jeans, a couple shirts, and folds them neatly into the closet. Then comes a handful of underwear, a few pairs of socks, and her toiletry bag. That’s it. She zips the bag shut again like this is normal.
I gesture between the nearly empty closet and the closed backpack. “That’s really all you have?”
She nods slowly. “Yeah. I mean… Abby got me these.” A small smile tugs at her lips. “I’m super grateful.”
“Abby?” I drop down onto the edge of the bed. “You haven’t had the chance to get anything for yourself?”
“Layne…” She exhales like I’m missing the obvious, then sits down next to me. The bed dips under her weight, just enough that our arms brush. “How am I supposed to do that? You guys got me out. Abby gave me something clean to wear. Brooks is giving me food and a place to sleep. That’s already more than I ever expected. I’m okay.”
I don’t think—I just pull her into my arms. Hold her like I can keep all the broken pieces together if I hold tight enough.My voice is quiet. “How long were you in there?”
She hesitates. “I don’t know… not too long, I think.”
I lean back so I can see her face. “Youthink?”
There’s a flicker of amusement in her eyes before she lets out a soft laugh. “Yeah. I think so.”
I frown, confused. “What’s funny?” I scratch the back of my neck.
She grins at me. “Your face. You looked like you were ready to hear I’d been locked up for six months. But Layne… they would’ve shipped me out if I’d been there that long. You know that.” She stands and pushes the empty bag under the bed.
“Fair,” I mutter. “Still doesn’t make me feel better about any of it.”
I pause, glancing around again. “Okay. Next mission—let’s find out if this house has a real coffee maker or if we’re dealing with some pod machine abomination.”
Back at Kyler’s apartment, I go through my evening routine on autopilot. My mind is on everything Norah told me while we were having coffee.
“Mom?”
I look at Rebel. “Hm?”
Her dark-brown eyes study me. “Nothing,” she murmurs, her lips barely moving.
