SHOCK
I was downstairs when the notice came through.
“Special meeting.”
No doubt at Jessica’s insistence.
It’s probably for the best. I donotwant her barging in here where she doesn’t belong.
There’s a bowl of half-made yogurt on the counter. And the order screen for our next normal supply drop is open.
I clean the first up, close the second out, and follow the sound of Chrys humming toward the windows.
She’s sitting cross legged, tapping out a rhythm on one knee and petting Kissu’s head where it rests on the other while she stares at the distant horizon without really seeing it.
“Did you get the summons?”
She holds up her phone, waving it at me with an unhappy twist to her lips. “Kimba has reminded me twice that I brought this part on myself.”
“Are you ready for this?”
“Yes. No.” She takes a deep breath. “Kind of.”
“Kind of?”
“I don’t think it’s possible to be ready for it, you know? But the universe put me here for a reason, and it decidednowwas the time to introduce me to the others… and make me deal with the consequences of being selfish, so…” She shrugs and her sweater slips off her shoulder.
“Well, you’ll have the three of us. No matter what happens, no matter what your sisters want, if you don’t want it, we will make sure it doesn’t happen.”
“Thank you.” Another deep breath before she raises her hands to me. “Time to go put on some armor.”
I help her up, following her to the bedroom, watching from the doorway as she pulls… seemingly every piece of clothing out of the drawers. She inspects each one and finds it lacking, until all of the items are on the bed in a pile and she stares at them, chewing her lip.
“How can I help?”
Shrugging, she says, “I don’t know.”
I don’t often wish I had Arc’s ability, but right now, I do. Picking up the shirt closest to me, I ask, “Do you have a favorite?”
The look she gives me is almost scolding. “We both know I’m not good at pickingoneof anything.”
But her smile fades and I toss the shirt onto the bed with the rest of it, going to her. She wraps her arms around my waist and squeezes me tight, muffling her next words into my chest. “They’re going to be mad at me and I don’t like when people are mad at me. And if I wear what I want to wear, they might think I’m… I don’t know, not taking this whole thing seriously?”
“Wear what you want to. We know. And if anyone tries to imply differently, we will let them know just how wrong they are.”
She tilts her head up, smile tight, like her muscles are fighting to get out of a straight line.
I kiss her, because it doesn’t matter what shape her mouth is when she’s kissing me. All that matters is the way her hands tighten, the way her weight shifts, and the way she puts her whole body into kissing me back.
When she takes a deep breath, leaning back to look up at me, her eyes narrow and there’s no tension in the suspicious smile she gives me.
“Are you distracting me?”
“Yes.”
She laughs and pushes up onto her toes to kiss me one more time.
One more deep breath. “Okay. Go big or stay home.”
