When Levi enters the kitchen next, his energy instantly fills the room. He’s humming softly to himself, that usual bounce in his step, his bleached blond hair perfectly styled into beachwaves as he makes a beeline for me. Without hesitation, he leans down and kisses my cheek, leaving a sticky lip-gloss print.
I flinch, brushing him off. “Dove, we talked about this,” I grumble. “You can’t just kiss people randomly.”
“You say that every time, but you secretly love it.” Levi laughs brightly, then scrunches his nose. “Ugh, take a goddamn shower, will you?”
They understand my boundaries,for the most part.
I shoot him a look, but he doesn’t care. He never does. Across the table, Koen catches my eye, and there’s a look there—one that says,see? You belong here.
Do I?
I used to think so.
But without Oscar, the doubts are creeping back. I don’t deserve to be here. Losing her was proof of that. Oscar’s death? Just a second reminder of what happens when I get close to people.
Ezra steps in as quiet and composed as ever. He’s tall, but his presence never seems to take up too much space. His features are sharp but refined. With wavy brown hair and eyes as dark as onyx, there’s a quiet intensity to him that always lingers beneath the surface.
When his eyes meet mine, something flickers there—something I can’t quite place—but it tugs at my chest all the same.
He’s not a fan of me.
Hell, I’m not either.
I turn away only to catch Levi staring at Ezra with a look of longing I’ve seen a hundred times before. It’s clear as day, but no one else ever seems to notice.
Ezra sits down next to Levi, glancing at him with an intensity in his eyes that turns to warmth.
“Eat while it’s hot,” Koen calls from the kitchen as small paws land on my thighs, claws digging in.
God, you’re only eight pounds. How the hell does that hurt so much?
Jinx’s purring rumbles through her small body as she curls up, making herself comfortable as if this was her rightful throne. She looks up at me with those green eyes, unbothered and very much at home.
Levi notices and calls me out immediately. “Hey, keep the damn cat away from the table. She’ll go after Pebble.”
“I will as soon as you keep yourdamn birdaway from the table,” I shoot back, feeling oddly protective of the cat in my lap that isn’t even mine.
Levi snorts. “The bird isn’t just a bird. Pebble’s the fucking star of the show.”
“Well, if only stars have the right to exist in this house…” I say a little too harshly but catch myself and let the words trail off as the implication settles.
“Of course not.” Levi’s grin falters for a moment, and his gaze softens, the amusement draining from his face. “Fine. You can keep your damn cat at the table, but if she so much aslooksat Pebble for too long, I’m kicking her out.”
I glance down at Jinx, and her eyes barely glance at Pebble as if to say she’s too good to bother with a pigeon. I smile at that.
“She isn’t my cat,” I mutter, almost as if to convince myself as I stroke over her nose. “She’s Oscar’s.”
Sylus huffs a laugh from beside me. “Maybe she’s not your cat, but you’re definitely her human.”
As if to agree with him, Jinx starts to purr contentedly in my lap.
Sylus starts picking at his bacon, and Levi is humming again, the sound irritating but oddly comforting in the silence. I stare at the food in front of me, my appetite still nowhere to be found,even if my stomach growls again. Begrudgingly, I pick up my fork anyway and force down a few bites of scrambled eggs.
When Koen finally sits at the table, he clears his throat, his gaze sweeping over us. “So, yesterday, we were at Oscar’s grave.”
The fork I’m holding halts midair, and guilt surges through me. I haven’t been back since the funeral because I’m always stuck in this damn house, stuck in my damn mind.
I glance over at Sylus, who raises an eyebrow as if this is news to him, too, which brings me a small, bitter relief.
