She nods in understanding. She’s a mom. She gets it.
“Are you… staying?” I ask.
She nods. “Yeah, Wyatt got the guest room set up for me.”
My heart swells, knowing she’s here in my house for the night. It’s not everything I want, but I’ll take it. “Good.”
“You get some sleep. I’ll come back to get you another pill in the middle of the night,” she says, backing toward the door.
I would normally tell her not to worry about it. I can get my own pills. But if Oliver is still asleep, I won’t want to wake him.
I nod, accepting her offer to help. “Good night, Abby.”
“’Night, Kane.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Abby
I lean into the washer,pulling out the small pile of wet clothes and tossing them into the dryer.
I was only planning on being here for two nights, so I didn’t bring much with me. I’ve been here for double that many days now, so I’m running a little low in the clothes department.
I could have stopped at my house to grab some more clothes after work today, but I just didn’t want to. I wanted to get back here as quickly as I could.
I shake my head at how ludicrous it sounds even to me, and I’m the one who did it.
Being here shouldn’t feel as seamless as it has. Nothing about it has been awkward or weird, which in and of itself is weird. It feels like home.
The only thing I’m really missing is Mav. He knows I’ve been staying here to help take care of Kane after the accident.
Last night, I had a video call with him. He was more excited to see Oliver than he was to see me, but whatever.
It isn’t that I lied to him. I have been helping to some degree, but I’m not going to tell my son that I’m also here because of an undeniable need to be near all three of these men… even if nothing can ever come of it.
When the dryer tumbles to life, I walk out into the kitchen. It’s late, and the house is quiet.
Oliver went to bed a while ago, and Kane retreated to his room shortly after. He is getting better every day. He no longer needs bandages on any of his scrapes.
The bruises are starting to fade too, ever so slightly. The cast will still be in place for a while, but he isn’t wearing the sling all the time. He only wears it when his shoulder starts to hurt.
All of it is still draining, though, so he has been going to bed pretty early most nights. I think Linc and Wyatt want to give him shit about going to bed so early, but a bigger part of them is just grateful their friend is okay.
There really is no medical reason for me to be here. Honestly, there wasn’t a need for me to be here in the first place.
We’re all aware of this, but no one is going to bring light to it. We all seem to be happily existing in this little bubble we’ve created.
It won’t last forever. In fact, it can’t last beyond tomorrow.
I get Mav back after that, so there’s no way this can continue. It’s for the best because I can’t be around them this much and keep my hands and my heart to myself. It’s already hard enough as it is.
I expect to find Wyatt or Linc in the living room, but the space is empty. Deciding I want a cup of tea before I go to bed, I head into the kitchen.
I grab a mug from the cabinet along with the box of tea that magically appeared a few days ago. The first night I was here, I’d dug through the kitchen and pantry looking for some, but there hadn’t been any.
The next day, a variety box of tea just happened to be sitting on the counter. Linc was the only person around when I was searching through the kitchen the night prior, so I assumed hebought it. When I asked, he just shrugged and said he hoped there was something in there that would work.
They have one of those cool hot water dispensers attached to the kitchen sink, so filling my cup with boiling water only takes seconds. I dig through the box and settle on raspberry hibiscus.
