The window looked out on the parking lot, and he pulled the blackout curtains before he let her come in.
Amy fooled around with her luggage for a few minutes, trying to figure out where she wanted it, and then she sat on the bed.The wind had given her a lot of flyaways, and her eyes had that disconnected look that meant she wasn’t really seeing anything.
“Do you want us to stay?”Tean asked.
“What?Oh.No.No, thank you.I’ll be fine.”
“Nobody knows you’re here,” Jem said.“Keep the door locked.Stay off social media.”
She was already nodding.“I know.”
“Do you need anything?”Tean asked.
Amy shook her head.
“We’ll hang out downstairs for a little while,” Jem said.“Just in case.”
“Okay.”She followed them to the door.“I’m not crazy, am I?”
Tean looked at Jem.
Jem shook his head.“Keep trusting your gut.”
For some reason, that made her smile.“Thank you.You didn’t have to do all this.”
“We charge two hundred dollars an hour plus tips, and we get union breaks.And Tean has to make sure no animals are harmed in the making of this movie.”
“He’s making that up,” Tean informed her.“You don’t owe us anything.”
Her smile grew, but she didn’t say anything.She shut the door behind them, and the bolt went home, and metal thunked as the swing bar fell into place.
As they went down the elevator, Jem caught Tean watching him.
“What?”Jem asked.
Tean shrugged.“I love you.”
Jem gave him a super cool nod.He did a little slouching.Checked his hair in the mirror to make sure it still looked kick-ass.And then he said, “Oh shit.I love you too.”
Tean was still laughing when the elevator doors slid open.
They’d barely made it to the Subaru before Tean took out his phone and frowned down at it.
“Is that Amy?”Jem asked.
“Surprisingly close,” Tean said in that dry voice that meant he wasn’t actually amused.“Amos.”
“What does he want?”
“To be a jerk.As usual.”
“I’ll fight him.Do you want me to fight him?Wait, could I beat him?”
Tean snorted.“You could beat him with your eyes closed.”The phone buzzed again, and Tean glanced at it and grimaced.
“Family emergency?”
“Yes.I suppose.”Tean didn’t grow much facial hair, but it had been a full day since he’d shaved, and when he ran one hand over his cheek, it rasped faintly.“My grandfather died.”
