Page 109 of Inseparable
The walls between us are dropping, and his unflinching support is comforting. I’ve slept at his place the last two nights, in his bed, in his arms. Nothing sexual happened. We didn’t even kiss. Neither of us are ready for that yet, but I slept in his embrace, and it’s been the best sleep I’ve had in years.
When we step off the plane in Iowa, his father and Lucas are waiting to greet us. I almost keel over as Luc runs toward me. When I left, he was only a kid, but he’s all grown up now, and so much like his older brother. He draws me into his arms without hesitation, swinging me around, and I laugh. When he places my feet on the ground, he continues to hug me, and it’s kinda getting embarrassing.
“I didn’t just find her for you to squeeze the life out of her,” Devin quips, unwrapping his brother’s arms from around my waist and hauling me back into his chest.
“Good to see you’re still a possessive, jealous freak around Ange,” he replies with a wink.
Jim steps forward then, patting my shoulder and cupping my face. “I’m far too afraid of him to chance a hug,” he teases, his eyes shining happily as he looks over my shoulder at his other son. “But it’s fantastic to see you again, Angelina. Your mother is going to be so happy.”
My smile cracks. I want to see Mom so badly, but I’m terrified too. I abandoned her, and I’m so ashamed. She did nothing to deserve that kind of treatment from me. Jim changes his mind, pulling me into his arms. “She won’t judge you, sweet girl. She’ll just be happy to have you back.”
“You didn’t say anything, right?” Devin asks.
Jim relinquishes his hold on me, shaking his head. “No. I was in too much shock this morning when you called to even consider it anyway.”
“This morning?” I look back at Devin.
“I couldn’t tell anyone about you yet. If I’d told them when I first found you, they would’ve been on top of you straightaway, and… well—”
“You didn’t want them to see me like that,” I supply for him.
“Are you mad?”
“Are you kidding me?” I twist around, placing my hands on his chest. “I didn’t want them to see me like that either. You made the right call.” I kiss his cheek. “Thank you.”
Lucas wraps his arm around my shoulder, bombarding me with questions as we walk to the waiting Mercedes. Devin gets in the back beside me, and Lucas hops in the other side. Jim drives us to a massive three-story house in a secluded area of a plush, quiet neighborhood on the outskirts of Minneapolis. “Welcome home,” Devin whispers in my ear, holding my hand and pulling me up the front steps. Jim and Lucas retrieve our luggage from the trunk and join us inside.
Devin gives me a whistle-stop tour of his lavish mansion, while Jim orders takeout. We sit at the long dining table, which overlooks the stunning landscaped lawn outside, while we eat and chat.
After they’ve gone, Devin runs me a bath, and I soak in the tub for an hour. When I emerge, swaddled in a comfy bathrobe with red cheeks and wrinkled skin, he’s waiting for me, an anxious look on his face. “I’m wondering where you want me to put your stuff?” He gestures with his arm. “I have plenty of guest bedrooms. You can have your pick, or you can stay with me.” He shrugs, attempting to make the gesture casual, but I know him too well.
“I like sleeping with you,” I admit truthfully, “and I want to share your room, but I don’t want to complicate things. We’re making progress, but I don’t think we should rush it.”
He’s not happy, but he doesn’t push me. I choose a soothing green room just down the hall from the master suite, and Devin leaves while I unpack. An hour later, I join him downstairs in the living room. The TV is on mute in the background, and he’s dressed in sweats and a plain T-shirt, lounging on the couch with a laptop in his lap. He puts it aside when I enter the room, smiling warmly at me. He jumps up, kissing the tip of my nose. “I like having you here.”
“I like being here.”
“Would you like some hot chocolate?”
“That sounds great.”
We drink our yummy chocolaty drinks in his homey kitchen, chatting about my mom and talking through my ideas to return to college. Devin wholeheartedly supports my plan, and he’s quick to offer to fund it, but I won’t hear of it. He can’t swoop in and fix everything. Not when I need to learn to stand on my own two feet, without any crutches.
We go to our separate bedrooms, and I lie awake for a couple hours worried and nervous about the next few days. In three days, we’ll travel to Mason City for Christmas. I’m so excited to see my mom, but I’m petrified too. She doesn’t know I’m coming yet. She thinks she’s hosting Christmas dinner for Devin and his family. Jim is going to call her Christmas morning and tell her the good news. It seems they’ve become close friends during my absence, and he fed me some tidbits over dinner earlier. I was pleased to hear she’s still with Jon—Dr. Williams. Knowing she wasn’t alone goes some way toward assuaging my guilt.
As the clock chimes three, I get out of bed and tread softly to Devin’s room. He’s snoring softly as I peel back the covers and slip underneath. He stirs when the bed dips, his arms opening automatically for me. “Come here, baby,” he muffles in a sleep-laden tone. I curl up against him and fall instantly asleep.
Devin works overtime to fill the hours and my headspace over the next few days, and I love him for instinctually knowing that I desperately need distracting. He takes me shopping, insisting on buying me a whole new closet despite my protests to the contrary. We go out for dinner, go biking and walking in Lyndale Park Gardens, catch a show at the Guthrie Theater, and stay up talking into the early hours of the morning. I fall into bed each night exhausted but happy. The more time I spend in his company, the more I relax, and, in a lot of ways, it’s as if we were never apart.
My leg jerks up and down as I stare out the window at the fields whizzing by. Devin plants a hand on my knee as he drives. “Try to relax. It’s going to be okay.”
“And Mom knows I’m coming now? Because I don’t want to spring this on her and give her a coronary.”
“She knows. Jim said she screamed and cried down the phone for a half hour. She can’t wait to see you, and she told him to tell you not to worry because all she cares about is seeing you again.”
“I don’t how she can be so understanding,” I mumble.
“Because she’s your mother, and she loves you unconditionally.”
