“What was that?”Isaid asIjogged up the stairs.
Aurora blinked as her eyes raked up and down my chest. “I. . .”
That was the reactionIwas looking for.
“Point me to the next mattress andI’llhelp you get ‘em out.”
She just blinked and pointed to the door, her gaze never leaving my chest.
I grinned, shaking my head asIdipped into the house.Ipoked my head into the room whereIhad found her sleeping on the floor, but the bed frame was empty.Shemust have just tossed that one.
Her sleeping bag was still right where it had been.Alaptop sat beside it, open with the screen illuminated.Adocument was pulled up, but it was blank.Thecursor blinked, waiting for words to be typed, but there were none.
I swung back through the kitchen and headed up the stairs to the top floor, taking stock of the bedroom situation.Therewere four more bedrooms.Twohad queen-sized beds.Thethird bedroom had a full bed, and the fourth had two twin beds.
A widow’s watch split the communal landing between the sides, givingAuroraan unobstructed view of theAtlantic.
I started with the first queen mattress, holding my breath asIhauled it down the stairs to keep from breathing in the dust, mold, and whatever else hid inside it.
I was half-tempted to tellAurorato take a break whileIran to the station to get my breathing apparatus, but she had an angry look in her eye today that told me this wasn’t simply clearing out the house.Itwas ripping out the cobwebs that cluttered her soul.
The full-sized and twin mattresses weren’t bad.Islid them down the stairs, one by one, then climbed over them and hauled them out toAurorato throw off the deck into the dumpster.
Each mattress toss was met with a warrior's scream from the deepest part of her chest.
The last queen mattress was a bitch, giving me hell asItried to work it around the bedroom corner, doorframe, and staircase.
“You alright up there?”Auroracalled from the kitchen.
“Yup,”Igrunted asItried to get it around the corners again.
“What happens if you get stuck?” she called. “DoIhave to call the fire department?Imean,Idon’t mind, but it’ll be pretty awkward for you.”
“I’ll be fine,”Isaid asIbacked the mattress back into the room to try and get it out from a different angle.
Aurora fell quiet asIslowly coaxed that goddamn mattress out of the room and heaved it down the stairs.
WhenIfinally made it down to the landing, she was swearing and looked like she was going to chuck her laptop into the dumpster.
“Throwing old mattresses is less financially damaging than throwing a laptop,”Iquipped asIslid it across the floor.
Aurora glared at me. “Mindyour mattress.”
“What’s the matter, peaches?”
Her lip curled in disdain. “Peaches?”
I shrugged. “Youdon’t likeAuroraorRoar.Igotta figure something out.”
“I told you to call meWander.It’swhat everyone does.”
“Yeah, but you said you were retired.Ifit’s your retired pen name, it seems a little strange to use.”
Aurora quickly averted her gaze asIpaused beside her, then put two and two together. “Unlessyou’re not actually retired.”
“If you want to keep bothering me by making wild assumptions about me and my life, the least you can do is get that mattress out of my house.”
“Would you like to do the final honors?”Isaid asIpushed it out the door and lined it up against the deck railing.
