“That can be arranged,” Fred says, slipping an arm around me.“We’ll watch Olly while you find out what’s going on.How’s that?”
I nod, though my lungs constrict with the resurrection of familiar pains, like old wounds reopened and freshly gushing.She wouldn’t leave us without a reason.Maybe she just got scared—seeing Olly like that scared me, too.Whatever has happened, I want to be there for her, helping her through it.I plan to take the path to the fairy house, talk to Vee, pack up our gear, and get my Jeep while Mom and Fred watch Olly.
But my plan unravels like a pulled thread when we reach the driveway.The Jeep is already here, loaded with our gear.
“Dang, Venus must’ve moved like lightning to do all that so fast,” Fred says.“Kind of her, though.”
I exit the car as soon as it’s in park, and go to mine.The keys sit on the front seat.I open the trunk and find our supplies neatly packed and organized.She didn’t do this on impulse.
“Shit, this is bad,” I mumble under my breath.I’m crushed with fears—me showing up at the fairy house to find her gone, my calls and texts going unanswered, and her father eventually explaining that my sunflower prefers her life as a cactus, that it’s easier, that I only made her feel trapped.
“Come on, Olly.Let’s find your backup pair of glasses,” Fred says.“They’re probably in the junk drawer next to the ketchup packets.”
“I’ll grab the ice cream,” Mom says, following behind them.
“Mom?”
She turns on the first step while Fred and Olly disappear inside.
“Did you say something to her?”I ask again.
Her arms fold, and her shoulders sag.Her brow scrunches with regret.“Um, she was already upset, Henry… but I’m sorry, it just came out.”
“What came out?”
“I said… I knew something like this would happen.”
“Youknewthis would happen?She felt terrible about Olly, and you made her feel worse?”I snap, anger surging inside me.“You’re so grief-stricken about Jay, so worried that you pushed him away.But you’re doing the same thing to Venus.If you make me choose between you and Venus, I’ll pick her every fucking time.”
Her feet shuffle backward as she stares, stunned and near tears over my harshness.Her hand trembles as she brings it to her mouth.“Henry…”
“I have to go.”I wave a dismissive hand toward her and race around the fence line.I don’t stop running until the rear deck of the fairy house comes into view.Buster yaps at the sliding glass doors as I approach.It’s a relief, knowing that Venus wouldn’t shirk her pet-sitting responsibilities.Shemustbe here.
Knocking doesn’t produce her, though.I move to the front and spot the Land Rover in the drive.I ring the bell.
No answer.
I consider climbing the trellis to the upper deck and Venus’s bedroom, like I did when we were teens.The broken slat reminds me that I’m not a teenager anymore, and falling off her trellis wouldn’t help anything.
Buster barks and bounces at the sliding glass doors.I try the handle, and it slides open.
“Venus!”I call into the silence.I traverse the stairs, calling her name.
I don’t find her, but bags are strewn on her bed—one open suitcase and a heavy-duty backpack, half-packed.Piles of t-shirts, shorts, and cargo pants lie beside the open luggage.
In the open closet, her new wardrobe hangs neatly, but her dresses, skirts, and blouses are pushed back with her prom dress, as if she doesn’t need them anymore.
She’s leaving them behind.Leaving us behind.
But, she hasn’t left yet.
CHAPTER47
Henry
The sharp smackof the greenhouse door brings a startled gasp from within.I edge around the messy tables and bubbling bogs and find Venus in the middle.She’s camped out on a blanket, lying on her back, and staring into the glowing mosaic overhead.Her hair is splayed around her.Her boots are kicked off to the side.She holds a tumbler against her stomach, of ice and presumably vodka, as the bottle sits nearby, like she plans to make a day of it.It clinks against her belly button ring as she begrudgingly makes space for me beside her in the narrow alley between plants.
She isn’t crying or upset, at least not at a glance.She holds up her glass and says, “When the afternoon sun hits it just right, it creates a rainbow.Remember?”
