I glanced over passing bodies looking for Violet. In this crowd, it would have been impossible for most.
Not for me.
Despite how frayed my nerves were, my enhanced hearing picked up thousands of conversations at once. I focused, listening for the sound of her stride among the chaos. I filtered out the meaningless noise, searching for that particular cadence I’d memorized without meaning to.
There. The familiar rhythm of her brisk walk.
I turned in her direction and was greeted by her smile—genuine and unguarded. My chest tightened.
“Rowan, finally made it?”
Relief surged through me, cool and sweet. I took her hand in mine without thinking, her palm warm against my skin. The contact sent electricity up my arm. “I can always find you, even in a crowd like this.”
She laughed, the sound reverberating in my ears as I consciously turned down my hearing to save my sanity. “Don’t remind me. You’re like a bat, somehow always knowing what direction I’m coming from.”
“How fitting.” I kept hold of her hand as we navigated towards the platform, my heart racing to match hers. “Like a bat, I too can be cuddly and clingy.”
“Gross,” she said as she wrinkled her nose.
I found the expression endearing. The way her whole face scrunched up with her hazel eyes narrowing. “You look like your mother when you do that,” I said.
“Ugh,doublegross!” She pulled her hand free to swat at my arm. “Don’t ever let me do that again.”
“Noted.” I reached for her bag—a massive duffel in dark purple—and nearly dropped it when the weight registered. Easily over sixty pounds. “What is in this?”
“Only my essentials,” she said breezily, as if that explained everything.
By essentials, she really meant her entire wardrobe–those killer heels I’d watched her dance in, and probably enough cosmetics to stock a small boutique–I’d come to find out later. The bus ride was relatively quick, the vehicle swaying on its route while Violet chatted about her exams. Her voice washed over me, familiar and grounding. I said little, enjoying the musical quality of her voice. Safe. Comforting. Mine.
Walking up the stairs to the third story of my building—industrial concrete painted gunmetal gray, the stairwell smelling faintly of cleaning solution—I handed Violet the newly made spare key. I’d had it cut that morning at the hardware store, choosing the shape myself from their novelty options.
It was bright hot pink, the end painted with the shape of a prancing horse.
She squealed, the sound high and delighted. “Oh my god, Rowan! It’s perfect!”
I laughed despite myself, warmth blooming in my chest at her reaction. “Here, test it out.”
She took it with reverent hands and inserted it into the lock. The deadbolt turned smoothly, the door swinging open with a soft click. She hugged the key to her chest like it was precious.
“I love it. I’ve got to think of a name for him.”
“Him?” I raised an eyebrow.
She stepped inside, working on slipping off her sneakers—white canvas, grass-stained and worn. “Don’t presume to know his gender, Rowan!”
“Ah, right. Sorry,” I said, fighting back a smile.
I showed her around the apartment, pointing out the master bedroom with its platform bed and white linens, the bathroom with its industrial fixtures and rainfall shower, the study I’d converted into a workspace. She oohed at the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Atlanta’s shoppingdistrict, the view a glittering expanse of glass towers and neon signs just beginning to light up as evening approached. For once, I was glad for the space, given how it impressed her.
Then she threw herself onto the freshly made bed, landing with a bounce that made the mattress springs sing. Her hair spread across the white pillows like spilled ink and wine.
“You have a swank place.” She stretched like a cat, her spine arching. “Decorated it yourself?”
“No, it came furnished.” I leaned against the doorframe, watching her claim the space as her own. “Courtesy of the adopted father.”
I threw her earlier barb back at her, my tone dry.
Her face fell, guilt flashing across her features. “Listen, Rowan. . . that was unkind. I am sorry about that.”
