“Sure ya can.” Oliver chuckled as Em neared us with her brothers on either side. “It’s not like you haven’t known her for years. Plus, she’s already living with you.”
He clapped my back as Em placed the key into the lock and twisted it. The sound clanged, and we all stood there, waiting as she pushed the doors open and walked in. She gasped, froze, then jogged farther in.
“I can put the cutting tables here,” she said immediately, moving deeper inside. “Pressing station near the back. Shelving along this wall. Packaging by the door so shipping doesn’t bottleneck.”
She was already building it in her head.
Daniel hovered near her shoulder, nodding along. “Workflow makes sense. You could even rope off a small retail section up front if you ever want walk-ins.”
I walked the perimeter slowly, eyes scanning corners and doors the way they always did. Habit. Instinct. Protection didn’t turn off because the setting changed.
“We’ll need cameras,” I said, mostly to myself. “Front and back. Motion lights. Decent locks. I can call the guy who did my place.”
Em turned to look at me, surprise flickering across her face. “You’re already thinking about that?”
“You being safe? Always,” I said simply.
Her gaze softened, her lips curving into a slight smile that was meant for me. She nodded, a slight blush on her cheeks, then looked away.
The rest of the afternoon blurred into movement. Boxes unloaded. Tables assembled. Audrey labeling shelves with a Sharpie. Em floated through it all, energized and overwhelmed, touching walls, pacing distances, stopping to close her eyes and breathe.
At some point, Daniel caught her hands and squeezed them gently. “Hey,” he said. “You did this. Don’t dissociate now.”
She laughed through it, forehead pressing to his shoulder for a second before she straightened. “I’m here. I’m really here.”
I watched them with something tight and warm in my chest. When my phone buzzed with the time, reality nudged back in. Miles.
“I need to grab him,” I said quietly. “I’ll bring him back here after.”
Em nodded immediately, understanding without explanation. “Okay. We’ll—yeah. We’ll be here.”
Miles skippedbeside me on the walk back, talking nonstop about trucks and how “Aunt Em’s store” was going to be famous and whether famous people still had to go to bed on time. I answered when I needed to, nodded when it made sense, but my head stayed eight blocks away. I felt split down the middle—body moving forward, heart pulling me back.
The apartment felt wrong without her.
Not empty exactly—Miles filled the space with noise, questions, commentary—but hollow in a way that settled into my bones. The kind of quiet that made you aware of every sound because the one you wanted wasn’t there. Her laugh. Herhumming while she worked. The way she talked to herself under her breath like she didn’t realize anyone could hear.
I went through the motions once we got inside. Snack. Shirt change. Hands wiped. Shoes kicked off. He chattered from the kitchen stool while I cut apples, and I caught myself setting an extra plate out of habit before I realized she wasn’t there to eat with us. I put it back without comment, jaw tightening like that small thing mattered more than it should. Oliver’s question rang in my brain. What the fuck was I gonna do after her apartment was ready?
I didn’t want her to leave. I wasn’t sure I could survive it. Between the looming threat of my parents, and Em leaving, I had a cloud over me, and I hated myself for it.
Today was huge, for her. I had to focus on that. I masked my face, something I’d done before on the field, and made a plan.
I didn’t plan the stop at the flower shop on the walk to the store.
My feet turned in, like they’d made the decision before my brain caught up. The bell over the door chimed, and the place smelled green and damp and alive. Miles took the task seriously, eyes scanning every bucket like this was a mission.
“Those,” he said decisively, pointing at a bundle of soft pink blooms. “She likes pink.”
“She does,” I agreed. “Nice find, buddy.”
By the time we pulled back up to the storefront, the day had shifted. The harsh brightness from earlier had softened into something warmer, the light slanting through the windows instead of crashing in. Em stood near the front, hair loose now, sleeves pushed up, hands moving as she talked to Daniel like her body couldn’t stay still when her brain was this alive.
She looked different. Not dressed up. Not braced. Just… lit from the inside. Like she’d stepped fully into herself instead of trying to take up less room.
My chest ached from staring at her.
Daniel spotted us first and grinned like he’d been waiting for this exact moment. “Okay,” he announced loudly, clapping his hands together. “I am declaring a sibling emergency.”
