Page 78 of Call You Mine
The memory flashes in my mind, fuzzy and fragmented.
My mom.
The broken bottles.
The blood.
When I found her that way the first time, I didn’t have a big sister who would drop everything to get to me. To tell me everything was going to be okay. To save me when the person who should protect me was the one hurting me.
I had the 911 operator.
“Ava?” Anderson’s voice cuts through the thoughts. Idon’t know how long I was staring blankly at his chest, but it was long enough to not realize his hands are gripping my arms, his face just inches from mine. “Ava,” he says again. “Where’d you go, love?”
I clear my throat, suddenly cold from my wet hair and damp towel around me. “Nowhere,” I say with a dry laugh, reaching to open the shower door and stepping out of Anderson’s grip. “You need to get to bed, sunshine.” I keep my voice light, gentle.
“Right,” he says, wiping his hand down his face. Exhaustion clouding his features even more as we both come back to the moment.
“I’ll make sure Georgie is quiet when she gets home in a few hours.” I step out of the shower, the light from the bathroom coming in as if to remind us we aren’t the only two people in the world—even if it did feel like it. “We’re both home today, so we’ll be careful not to wake you.”
Anderson coughs into his fist, holding his towel as he follows me out of the shower. Seeing him out of the darkness further shows just how much he needs to go to sleep. “No worries.”
We stare at each other, neither of us wanting to be the first to move. It feels almost awkward all of a sudden, like when a first date is ending, and you don’t know if you should kiss or not.
If the first date was having a heart-to-heart in the shower, naked and wet, and not having sex.
“Well,” I start, “goodnight.” I turn around, shaking my head at myself.
If it wasn’t awkward before, it sure as fuck is now.
“Goodnight, love,” he whispers, but it sounds like a plea.
And it takes everything in me not to turn around.
CHAPTER 24
ANDERSON
“Areyou excited to spend the weekend with Sadie? Your sister said you two really hit it off during your coffee date at Hey Honey’s yesterday.”
Georgie and I are walking down the aisle of the new record store downtown, her eyes still just as wide as they were when we walked in as she looks at the endless amount of bins on either side of us.
Ava checked with Patricia about leaving Georgie with a babysitter while we were gone for a few days, and Sadie was willing to meet with Patricia to complete a background check. Once Patricia gave her stamp of approval, it settled a lot of Ava’s nerves about leaving Georgie.
“Yeah, she’s cool,” she answers, but she sounds distracted, and I don’t blame her. The shop is overwhelming, but in a good way. I can already tell we’re not going to be leaving here anytime soon, and I’m perfectly okay with that. We’re not in any rush.
Ava and I leave for Vegas tomorrow morning, and we’re meeting everyone early at Jack and Rumi’s to drop off Georgie with Sadie and to all drive to the airport in one car. As long as we’re back with enough time for me to pack a bagand get a decent amount of sleep, I'm fine spending the whole afternoon here.
Georgie starts thumbing through the records in one of the bins, carefully examining each before flipping to the next.
Ava is making sure everything at Hey Honey’s is taken care of while she’s gone for the next four days, so she asked if I could pick Georgie up from school. Since Georgie’s piano lesson was canceled for today, I figured it was finally time for us to check out this record store. I grabbed her, and we came straight here.
“See anything you like?” I ask Georgie, going through the vinyls in the bin next to hers.
She snorts, and it reminds me of Ava. “I’ve already seen like three records in this first bin I’ve been wanting. I don’t know how I’ll decide, though. Rumi said she’s going to pay me $20 for helping Sadie with Evee, and Ava’s giving me an extra $10 since I don’t get to go to the wedding.”
Because Georgie is at that age where she wants to be treated like an adult, Ava and Rumi agreed that phrasing her staying with Sadie while we’re gone isn’t her being babysat—it’s her lending Sadie an extra hand for the few days we’re gone.
I know from experience with my brothers that you have to toe the line carefully when it comes to taking care of a thirteen-year-old and letting themthinkthey’re taking care of themselves.
