“No!” I press my fingers against my temples and shut my eyes. Being in my physical body again has given me a tension headache. “Sorry,” I grumble, then open my eyes. “I didn’t mean to shout.”
Kennedy removes her puffy jacket and places it on the counter, revealing a purple long-sleeved crewneck. She takes in the newly dusted cabinets. “Did you clean up in here?”
I follow her in a circle around the island as she inspects the room, dragging her index finger along different surfaces. “You dusted,” shestatesmatter-of-factly. “And scrubbed the cabinets." She eyesmy filthy clothesknowingly, waiting for me to confirm.
“W-why do you say that?” I stutter.
She deadpans. “Because the dust is gone.” She shoots her hand upward, pointing to the cabinet door above her. “And this was gray. Nowit’sblue.But yourwhiteshirt is now grey... Interesting,”she smiles.
I clasp my hands behind my back, hoping theydon’tsmell like bleach. “Are you sure? I always thought it was more of a grayish blue.”
“Theo!”shebellows, butthere’sa laugh behind my name. “What are you up to?You’rebeing weird.” The lines beside her eyes crinkle, and I lower my defenses.
“Yes, I cleaned,” I admit with a sag of my shoulders.
I canadmit tothat, but Idon’tthink I want to tell her about leaving the house. Itdoesn’tfeel fully earnedyet,despite thepride I feel. I need to work my way up towalkingthose small-town sidewalks in my physical body. ThenI’llbe ready to share whatI’veaccomplished.
Her mouth drops open, no doubt wanting to congratulate me on doing the bare minimum, but she closes it quickly. “Why were you trying to hide it?”
I shrug and lean against the rusted sink.I’mnot embarrassed persay,I justdon’twant her to know that this was all for her.
“I wasn’t able to do the second level, so your bedroom is still a mess,” I tell her.
Her blue eyes catch the light from thewindowand I see the slightest sparkle of a tear. She drops her head and wipes it away. “Idon’tmind. This is a great start.” Her eyes lift to mine, now completely dry. “I can help you.It’spast time I started pulling my weight around here.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I murmur.
“SureI do.You’vegiven me a place to stay. This can be my way of thanking you.”
Does this mean she plans to stay? Why would she want to put her energy into a placethat’stemporary?
I swallow rapidly and nod. “Okay. We can start this weekend.”
She bounces up and down. “Let’sstart right now! This will be fun! Then,whenwe’redone with the cleanup, I can help you decorate. Oh my gosh, how long has it been since there was fresh paint on these walls? This isvery exciting, Theo.”She claps her hands in quick succession and beams at me.
I force a bright smile to match her newfound energy, but in my head all I canthinkis:she wants to paint the walls.
She wants to stay.
Chapter Twenty-Four
KENNEDY
Iknow Ishouldn’tassume, but Ican’thelp but think Theo cleaned the house…for me. Heeven calleditmybedroom. Heclearly wants me to stay with him, and now I feel ten times more guilty about considering Claudia’s offer to move in with her.
I don’t know what I’m supposed to do, but I’m nothing if not a great procrastinator. That’s why I pounced on offering to help clean and decorate the house. It’s not like this place couldn’t use a little feminine touch. And besides, the living conditions need a serious upgrade. If I weren’t dead, I’d be living in squalor.
Theo and I are still lingering in the kitchen, so Idecidetotake a lookinside the antique fridge.It’sone of those rounded retro refrigerators with long silver handles that pull horizontally. Iyankit open andfindexactly what I was expecting: nothing.
“How long has this been here?” I ask only because it looks decades newer than the house itself.There’salso a bread toaster with big, shiny buttons, and thoughit’smissing itsinnerrack,I see modern dials on the oven.
Theo puts some distance between himself and the appliance in question. “Everything was updated in the sixties. That was the last time anyone lived here.”
The same year as the magazines by the door. “Are they the ones who had the subscription to TIME?”
He nods, quietly rubbing his hands together.
I knowthere’smoretothe story. Whoever lived here must have hada big impacton Theo. I wonder how long they stayed.What made them leave?
