“What if it’s not enough?”
“That’s on the town, not you.”
“Isn’t that how it always is?”
“Yeah. I suppose so. Because things are easier for some people. And harder for others. Here you are. You tried. You’ve done absolutely all the best things. And you did it because you care.”
She leaned in. “And for revenge.” She said that part in a whisper. And she was so cute, he had to kiss her on the nose.
“Right. But we don’t need to tell everybody that. That’s an inside thought.” He tapped the side of her head.
“You’re ridiculous,” she said.
“You too, sweetie.”
The whole interaction made his heart do something strange in his chest, and he didn’t quite know how to categorize it. So he didn’t.
But he loved to watch Jessie work.
She was so dynamic. So great with everyone that came to the booth to talk to her.
He couldn’t escape the feeling that he was utterly superfluous. But he didn’t actually care.
It felt good to support her. To watch her do her thing. Which made him question himself.
Why exactly was he here? What was this? Was it really just a ruse they were engaging in? Or was it something more?
It didn’t really matter. He was here. They were together.
He took a step away from the booth after they’d been at it for about an hour and looked down the street at all the different displays.There was a coffee cart with baked goods, and he decided he would walk down that way and get something for Jessie.
She didn’t treat herself all that often—she’d said so herself—but he had noticed how much she enjoyed having a fancy coffee and a pastry.
He had the sudden, strange thought that if he could give her little treats every day for the rest of her life, it might actually make him happier than anything else.
He was blindsided by that notion. Didn’t know what the fuck it meant. He actually didn’t know what was happening to him.
But something was shifting. Changing inside him.
He was just about to reach the coffee cart when a hand reached out and grabbed his shoulder.
He turned sharply and came face-to-face with his half brother. They had the exact same color green eyes, and he always found it alarming. To look at those eyes, which were so familiar, set into a face that was a sort of distorted version of his own. A bit softer and rounder. And always with hard resentment glittering right at the surface. He wondered if he appeared just as resentful when he looked back at Michael. But he didn’t envy Michael. So he didn’t think so.
“You’re such an asshole, do you know that?”
“For real?” He turned away from his brother and decided to try to keep on walking.
“I’m talking to you, Flynn.”
“Why? It’s not Christmas.”
“Don’t act like that. Your supporting this dog and pony show just to get back at us is ridiculous.”
“Why would anything I do have something to do with you?”
That question would’ve been completely disingenuous at the beginning of the race, but not now. It was about Jessie Jane now. It was about the fact that he thought she was the best person for the job. The fact that he thought she deserved to achieve every hope and dream she had ever had. He thought about his family less and less.
He didn’t care what they thought. Not about her candidacy. Not about anything.
