Chapter 55 Clean
Clean
Dylan
The door swung open and when he glanced up he saw his sister. She half smiled but detoured to a table against the wall.
Dylan crossed the cafeteria in slow strides, trying to figure out what the hell he was going to say. He hadn’t had a real heart-to-heart with since the night after the fundraiser. Since before everything started to shift.
She didn’t look up when he approached. Just stared down at the lid of her coffee cup like it had answers.
He eased into the chair across from her, bracing his elbows on the table.
But before he could speak, there was the soft scrape of another chair.
Ali.
She sat down beside him, not across. Not separate. Her shoulder brushing his, her presence like a warm blanket around his spine.
She didn’t say anything right away—just slid her fingers into his under the table and gave a gentle squeeze. A quiet anchor. Her other hand stayed in her lap, fists loosely curled. Her smile was small, shaky, but real. Meant for both of them.
Daisy finally looked up.
Her gaze flicked to Dylan, then to Ali. Something unreadable passed through her expression. Guilt? Regret? Maybe just exhaustion.
Dylan swallowed, his thumb brushing over Ali’s knuckles. “Hey,” he said softly.
Daisy let out a breath that almost sounded like a laugh. “This feels weird.”
Ali gave a tiny nod. “Yeah. It does.”
“But not bad,” Daisy added, her voice barely above a whisper.
They sat there for a moment—just three people tethered by too much history and still learning how to hold it all.
Dylan leaned back slightly, still holding Ali’s hand. “We don’t have to figure it all out right now. But maybe… we could start.”
Daisy looked at them again. Then nodded.
“Yeah,” she said. “Maybe we could.”
Ali shifted slightly, still holding Dylan’s hand. She glanced at Daisy, her voice quiet but steady.
“How are your kids?”
Daisy blinked at her, caught off guard.
Ali offered a small smile. “Dylan talks about them all the time.”
That made Daisy’s eyes soften. “Yeah?” Her lips twitched like she wasn’t sure whether to smile or apologize. “They’re good. Liam’s a little obsessed with dinosaurs right now. And Lillie… she’s basically a tiny dictator in a princess dress.”
Ali let out a soft laugh. “That sounds… kinda perfect.”
“It is,” Daisy said, and for a moment, there was peace in her eyes. “Tiring. But perfect.”
Dylan squeezed Ali’s hand, grateful she asked. Grateful Daisy answered.
No digging. No pain.
Just the start of something better.