Page 132 of Knot So Social

White clouds shred overhead as if blown by a stiff wind, cutting strips across a vibrant blue sky. Below it, the grass seems greener than usual, and the summer roses perfume the air. Elegant, sophisticated, and nothing like the tiny concrete blocks I’m used to, or the sprawling suburban house I grew up in.

But in a little over a week, this place has come to feel like home. More than that, perhaps. I’m at ease here, even though the manicured surroundings scream money. That sort of thing would normally make me uneasy. But everything about Willow sets me at ease, like we’ve known each other for years.

Like I’ve been coming here for a lifetime.

Only one thing is missing.

I dig my phone out and dial my brother.

“Hey,” Joel answers. “Everything okay?”

“Yep.” I shift on the bench seat to find a more comfortable position. “Alessandro woke up a few hours back and seemed right as rain.”

My brother grunts. “And Willow?”

“She’s fine too. Slept through the night and woke up not long after him. They’re, uh, currently occupied. With each other.”

The line falls silent. I wait it out. This situation’s gotta be uncomfortable for my brother, but he’ll need to face up to the truth.

“And . . . how are you?” he finally asks.

I laugh. “Oh, so I come last in the order, do I? Nice to know where I stand.”

“Fuck off,” he hisses. “You know I didn’t mean it like that.”

I chuckle and pop my bad leg up on the bench. “Then tell me what you did mean.” A dog barks in the background, and I cock my head. “Where are you?”

“At a dog park.”

“With Jock?”

“Yeah. It’s not like you have a yard or anything.”

I smile. “How did Tracey handle your visit?”

“She said she didn’t want the stinking dog anyway.”

“And what did she say about you?”

He clears his throat. “Enough. Alternated between screaming and crying. But then she said she hated me.”

“And how do you feel about her?”

“Well, Dr Phil—”

I snort.

He sighs and I can picture him, familiar worry line creasing his brow. “Strangely, it hurt a lot less than I expected. Kinda pathetic really, how almost two years of my life boils down to nothing but some hot air and a dull ache.” A trace of a smile enters his voice. “And a lunatic dog.”

The golden retriever brings over the rope and flops down on my bare foot. “He’d make good company for Mr Shares. Can you imagine the two of them tearing around this house like racehorses?”

He scoffs, but his heart isn’t in it. “She wouldn’t want—”

“Don’t do it.”

“Don’t do what?”

“Assume what you think she feels. You need to ask her what she wants, not pretend you know already.”