39. Lola
39
LOLA
T he next morning, I’m up early, and I'm surprised to find Asher when I sneak downstairs to get a cup of coffee. He doesn’t turn to look at me when I walk into the kitchen. He just stands by the large window, staring at the white snow, and my heart breaks for him.
God, I just want to help him.
But I know Hayden is right. I can’t help him right now, but I’ll always be his sister. “Good morning.”
He turns to look at me, and I try not to focus on his swollen lip and bruised cheek. “Morning.”
He looks hungover and beaten all to hell, not just by Hayden’s fist but life itself. And I can’t help him.
I can’t help him.
I stare at him like an idiot, fighting every instinct to ask if he’s okay and offer advice. Instead, I look out the window. “Wow, it snowed a lot.”
He looks at me, confused. “Yeah. It did.”
Don’t ask him if he’s in pain. If his stupid face hurts.
“Hopefully, our flight won’t be canceled. I’m tired of the snow.”
He nods, looking back out the window. “Yeah. I’m getting pretty tired of it myself.”
Do not ask him to come to California with the family that loves him and misses him so much.
I pour myself a cup of coffee. “Are you the first one up? Or is Mom somewhere?”
“I haven’t seen anyone this morning.” He turns back to me with suspicion, probably wondering when I'm going to start being more myself. “Where’s Hayden?” He looks guilty. “You guys didn’t get into a fight, did you?”
I join him at the table, with my cup of coffee, “No. We talked.”
He nods, looking relieved. “Good.”
I’m chewing on my bottom lip, still struggling not to talk to him about last night. “Yeah.”
“I like him.”
My eyes meet his, and I can tell he’s sincere. “Me too.” I smile. “A lot.”
“I’m sorry about last night...” He grabs the back of his neck, and I want to hug him but resist. He stands up as if he can tell what I want to do and can’t handle it. “I’m glad it didn’t cause any trouble with you guys. He’s a good guy.”
So. Are. You.
There are so many things I want to say, and I can tell he’s examining me, waiting for it. But I trust Hayden.
“Will you let us give you a ride back to Kansas City?”
He grins. “Guess that beats a five hundred-dollar Uber.”
I laugh and take a sip of my coffee, but I’m surprised when I see Penelope standing right outside of the kitchen. “Penelope? What are you doing here?”
Linc and she were supposed to be driving to Kansas City last night and catching a flight this morning for their honeymoon. She walks into the kitchen, sitting at the table with me. “We had to turn around about thirty minutes into the drive. The snow was too heavy, and it just wasn’t worth it.”
“Oh no. Can you change your flight?”
“That was the plan, but it was canceled anyway. So, hopefully tomorrow.”
“You just had to get married here.” Asher is actually kidding her, and Penelope laughs easily.
Some would take offense, and most of the time Asher would be trying to get that reaction. But he seems remorseful about last night.
“I know. I’m not sure what I was thinking.”
“It was beautiful though,” I add, and Asher nods in agreement as he starts to make his exit.
I can’t resist the urge to jump up and wrap my arms around his neck. He’s my little brother, and I trust Hayden, but I can’t live with myself if I don’t say something. He hugs me back with a little reluctance, but he’s smiling when I pull back to look into his eyes. “If you need me, you know you can always come to me. Always, Asher.”
His eyes look tired and watery, and he doesn’t have a smartass remark. “I know.”
“Any. Time. I’ll always be there for anything you need.”
He nods, the right side of his mouth turning up into a smile before he leaves the kitchen, and I join Penelope at the table.
“I’m sorry about your honeymoon.”
She grins, the diamond on her finger glistening in the white sunlight coming through the window. “I’m not. It was great.”
I roll my eyes, but I'm smiling. “Gross.”
She keeps grinning. “You and Hayden make up? Linc told me what happened.”
“Really don’t want to be part of your foreplay.”
She laughs. “Stop it.”
“We did. We didn’t even really fight. I probably should have been a lot madder at him for punching my brother in the face. Twice.”
She laughs again. “He cares. I have no idea why because we are insane, but Hayden really cares. I think he just wants you to be okay, and he knows Asher has to be okay for that to happen.”
“You think he’ll come to me if he needs me? Because that’s what Hayden thinks.”
She nods her head, grabbing one of the pastries in the middle of the table. My mom must have left them there for us for the morning. “Yeah, I really do. He’s stubborn, and he’s in pain, but he knows he has family he can go to. It just takes some people longer to reach out.”
Baz runs into the kitchen with Vivienne on his heels and jumps into Penelope’s lap, his little giggle making my heart soar.
“I love that he sounds like Colt.”
Viv and Penelope’s eyes go to me, clearly shocked I said his name out loud. I’m still amazed I did last night.
I smile and look over at Baz, smoothing my hand over his cheek. “And looks like him.”
Vivienne sits down at the table, exchanging a glance with Penelope before looking back at me. “Me too.”
Penelope grins at me happily. “Looks like this wedding was extremely beneficial for most of us.”
I smile, none of us actually needed to talk about this new revelation.
We’re on our way to being as whole as we can be, and although bittersweet, it’s mostly sweet.