STELLA
I stayed in the kitchen, setting everything up for tomorrow while Lee tucked Bennie in for the night. When he was here, I didn’t want to interfere unless he asked, so I told Bennie goodnight before Lee took her upstairs for a bath and however many stories she could con out of him.
I also needed a minute after dinner. Sitting around the table with Lee and Bennie felt a weird and unnerving kind of normal. Bennie rambled on about school and how excited she was about Nate picking her up next week, starting all her stories with “Stella and me.”
Lee glanced at me as she spoke, almost like our own little inside joke. I was thrilled that I managed to keep it all together while he was away, but I didn’t know how to act now that he was home.
I’d been so anxious about taking care of Bennie before Lee left, I hadn’t had as much time to think about him only two doors away. When I’d passed the bathroom while he’d been taking a shower the morning he’d left, I’d sworn I’d heard him moan. I’d been sure enough that I’d stilled on the carpet, hovering near the door to see if I’d been right, butflashes of Lee wet and naked and the gross guilt of intruding on his privacy had only let me linger for a couple of minutes.
I’d always known this would be the hard part. Living with Lee without it getting weird. I sucked in a long breath when I registered his footfalls down the steps.
“How many stories did she get out of you?” I teased, shoving the last of the leftovers into the refrigerator.
“Only one,” Lee said with a chuckle. “We were mostly talking. About what happened at school, my job, things about Katie.”
“Oh,” I said, not wanting to pry but hoping that would prompt him to continue.
“She thinks it’s cool that her mom named her after a character in a book. She had a lot of questions about little things that I should have told her a long time ago about Katie and about us, but…” A frown pulled at his mouth as he shrugged.
“You weren’t ready then, and you’re ready now. Talking is good, no matter when it happens.” I gave the counter a quick wipe and tossed the paper towel in the trash. “I’m proud of you. And don’t tell me you should have done this or that sooner.” I narrowed my eyes.
“I won’t.” He held up a hand. “Or thank you again.” His lips twitched. “Feel like watching some TV with me? I’m tired, but I still need to unwind a little. Unless you have to work on that project.”
“No. It can wait until tomorrow. I can hang for a bit.” I tried for a relaxed smile.
We’d watched so many movies and shows together in this house, although mostly in his basement. I joined him on the couch, a mix of nostalgia and nerves rushing through me as I picked my place on the cushion.
Why was that such a hard decision? I wanted to be close enough not to seem like I was avoiding him but far enough to have breathing room.
Maybe the weird things between us would stop being weird once they became routine? I didn’t know if staying weird or graduating to enjoying it too much would be worse.
I let out a slow breath but held in my frustrated groan.
“Remember this movie?” Lee asked, the corner of his mouth tipped up as Ghostface filled the large TV screen.
“Yes,” I said, glaring at Lee while I leaned against the arm of the couch. “We all watched it in the basement, and the next time we came by, you and Gary somehow found that exact mask and scared me after I came back from the bathroom.”
“And you’re still mad?” he asked, continuing to laugh.
“And you still think it was funny? I was the little sister you both loved to torture.”
“Hey. I never tortured you. Okay, maybe that one time.” Lee chuckled, a crooked grin splitting his mouth. “And I never thought of you as my little sister. Especially when you hit us both after we scared you.” Lee rubbed his arm.
He’d tortured me in a different way, like when he said he hadn’t thought of me as a little sister with a lift of his brow. My heart still wanted to read into that, while my head knew he’d just meant we were friends.
That kind of torture was far worse than anything a Ghostface mask would inflict.
“Think you’re brave enough to watch again? Conquer the fear?”
“Sure,” I said, lifting a shoulder. “I know what happens now.”
Horror movies weren’t my thing, even if it wasn’t my first viewing, but I wouldn’t admit that.
I zoned out, bracing for Ghostface to come back when Lee leaped across the couch.
“Boo!”
Lee covered my mouth when I let out a yelp.
