Avery grins. “Yes. Like guitar.”
“So, you’re saying I could take a guitar class? I could learn guitar? For free?” I perk up.
He nods. “Yes. It could help you with?—”
Cheep. Cheep. Chirp.
My head snaps up, and I scan the area quickly. “Do you hear that?” I ask, interrupting my brother.
He frowns. “The bird? Yeah.”
“You don’t think it’s a kitten, right? Like maybe one that needs help that we can’t see?”
Avery’s eyes widen. “Maeve,no.” He says it gently, with compassion his voice, and pity in his eyes.
The same look that Piper, Blair, Mari, and Ivan have all given me.
“Stop looking at me like that!” I insist.
“Like what?”
“Like…that.” I wave my hand in front of his face. “Like you feel sorry for me.”
“I don’t.”
I huff and continue eating.
Maybe I’ve been jumpier and more worried lately, but that doesn’t mean that my brother needs to leave his work to check on me.
Avery clears his throat. “So, your suppressants, maybe they could…uh…”
“Oh,god,” I groan. “Please, justdon’t. I amnotdiscussing my Heat meds with my brother.”
“I’m just saying, maybe you could have a weighted nesting blanket?—”
“Avery, I swear, I will dump this salmon on your head?—”
“Maybe your scent glands could be?—”
“Okay! I’ll take the guitar class!” I interrupt him. “Sign me up. I’ll do it. I’ll take every music class you want me to. Juststop.”
My brother visibly relaxes and leans back on the bench. “Good,” he sighs. “Introductory guitar starts at the end of the week.”
“Already? Don’t I have to enroll at the college?”
Avery just blinks at me.
“Or you already enrolled me,” I murmur.
He nods sheepishly. “Yeah. You’re already a student at the school; I’ll just register you for the class.”
“I should probably be annoyed at you,” I say.
“Probably. But I brought you your favorite food to soften the blow.”
I stare into my bowl and sigh. “You did. What’s the teacher like?”
“He’s a friend of mine. He’s an extremely talented musician,” Avery says, looking thoughtful. “He can be harsh, but he’s an excellent professor. Maybe you can put your nervous energy into that. Turn it into something good for you, not hurtful.”
