He chuckled and pulled me in tighter. “We’re all going to be just fine, Red,” he said with that easy confidence I’d learned to lean on. “Trust me.”
I did.
For the first time in a long time, I wasn’t waiting for the other shoe to drop. I wasn’t looking over my shoulder or holding my breath.
I was just here. With him. With hope.
Maybe not everything was fixed between me and the twins, but this afternoon had been a start, and for now, that was enough.
Ash leaned down and pressed a kiss to my temple — casual, familiar, like it was already a habit.
“You just took on the Santo brothers . . . and won,” he murmured. “You know what that means? You’re stuck with me now.”
I smiled, letting the words settle deep. “Good. I was planning on staying.”
Epilogue: Ash
I watched her singing and I, like most every other person in the bar, was transfixed. She was amazing. Her voice was so beautiful, trained undoubtedly, but still so raw and unique — she took my breath away. As Red sang the final words of the song, Ava turned and beamed at me.
“I love when she sings that one,” she told me.
“She’s fucking awesome,” I agreed as I watched Red dip her head in a small bow of acknowledgment as the crowd cheered. It was the last Thursday before Christmas break, finals were done, and we were all at Bar One for her gig.
The bar was packed, as it normally was now on a Thursday night. Atticus Dawn was growing in popularity, and Bar One now had a line outside it most Thursdays for entry.
It had been a few weeks since everything had settled down, and the six of us had formed a routine that worked for all of us. Quinn went back to her apartment, but spent most of the time at the house, and she and Gray slept at her place.
Ava was more or less a permanent fixture in our house, and Jett wasn’t complaining. None of us were complaining; Ava was an honorary member of the team. I split my time between the football house and Red’s apartment. It worked for us as we settled into getting to know each other and our relationship.
“Saw your latest article,” I said to Ava as we watched Red making her way to our table, but people were stopping her progress and talking to her.
Ava looked at me cautiously. “You like it?”
“Yeah, it was really good, really well done.” I took a drink of Coke.
It had been a piece on eating disorders among athletes. My bulimia was under control, and I was so proud of myself for not resorting to binge eating when the stress got to me. My girlfriendhad researched everything she would ever need to know about bulimia, and her fridge and cupboards had good food in them. Red wasn’t big on junk food anyway, but she realized through her own research and talking to Quinn how a little bit of something kept the balance in a healthy diet. Her research and her own strictness in regard to food were another form of support that she gave me without even realizing it. She was also learning to cook, which so far had produced some terrifying results.
Red was also so open about talking about her weight. It was as if she were my conduit to being more open, and I no longer felt as ashamed as I used to, which made my mom cry when I told her. Red was adopted into my family that afternoon. Because Red’s mom was “flighty,” as Red called her, Red had been subdued and quiet to begin with when I took her home to meet my parents. A big family wasn’t what she was used to; she really did only have Ava and Ava’s mom. However, she was coming more and more out of her shell, and my little sister, Tilly, adored her.
It had been Red who got Tilly and Quinn talking again. Quinn had been miserable that Tilly was too scared to speak to her after the Sunday lunch disaster, and she’d completely avoided her at Thanksgiving. Quinn was giving my sister the space she needed to feel comfortable again. My girlfriend was not as patient, and she wasn’t subtle. She had simply told Tilly that she was being a poopyhead — her words, not mine — and that it was okay to be a nitwit now and again. When Tilly had stared at her, Red had simply smiled and asked if she could braid her Barbie’s hair. When Tilly said yes, Red had given one to Quinn and one to herself, and the three of them sat and played with dolls. She was fucking awesome.
“I love my new job,” Ava said. “Did Jett tell you that I’m switching up some of my electives and things to move more toward journalism next year?”
“He did,” I replied. “I hate to say it, but was Professor Leitch right?” The professor was on a sabbatical while the board investigated the claims. It was likely going to be a permanent sabbatical.
Ava scowled when I said his name, but then shrugged. “Maybe, but the way he went about it was wrong.”
“No doubt about that,” I agreed.
“Hi,” Red said as she joined us. She took a drink of my Coke before she kissed me briefly and settled in under my arm. “Was I okay?”
“You were amazing,” I told her honestly, “as always.”
“You’re biased. Ava?”
“Ava’s more biased than I am,” I protested with a laugh.
“That’s true.”
