Chapter 11 #2
Shaking his head, he put a hand up, palm out. “I’m not talking about therapy. I’ve already gone over that with my brothers. Repeatedly. That topic is off the table.”
I could tell how serious he was just by the tone of his voice. “Alright, noted. I’ll back off about it.”
“As you should. If you get pushy with me, this friendship is over.”
“I won’t push you, I promise. But has anyone ever told you you’re a brat?”
The look on his face had me laughing. He blinked slowly, his eyes narrowing with each one. “Yeah, you. And my mom. Do I need to call you Mommy, now?”
“I don’t know about Mommy. Usually, I’m called Daddy, but whatever floats your boat, brat.”
He slapped my arm, his mouth open in shock. “Emerson whatever your middle name is Blake!” His voice dropped to a whisper, leaning in to my ear. “You did not just say that in my brother’s place of work. In public. In a bakery.”
I shrugged. “You started it with the Mommy stuff. What else was I supposed to do?”
“Not that. I don’t want to know what girls call you in bed.”
“Ew.” Moon and I both jumped as we looked up in shock, finding Crescent standing by the booth. “I guess you guys are more than friends, then?”
Moon groaned as he cradled his face in his hands. “Oh, my god. No, we’re just friends. You happened to walk over at the worst time possible.”
“Sorry, Crescent. You really did.”
Crescent slid into the booth, sitting in front of us. He started to unpack his lunch box, laying it all out on the table. “Uh huh. Keep telling yourselves that.”
Moon slid into the conversation to save the day, changing the topic. “We saw how busy you were earlier. Are you guys getting more word of mouth?”
“I think so.” Crescent looked up and paused, staring at something over Moon’s shoulder.
“Cres? You okay?”
“Yeah, sorry. Thought I saw something.”
Moon tilted his head. “Your earbuds are still in. Have you been taking your meds?”
“Yes, mother. I’ve been taking my meds. Sometimes, it just happens, okay? Don’t worry about me.”
“Hm, sounds a lot like something I said the other day to you.”
“Oh, shut up. You know I’m dealing with shit the healthy way. You, on the other hand?” Crescent raised an eyebrow at him.
I was sorely confused by the entire conversation going on. It didn’t seem to be my place to know, though, so I didn’t ask. I liked seeing them interact. The love they had for each other was so apparent in every action. It made me miss Harrison. It made me miss him a lot, actually.
“Never seen you so underdressed, Officer Blake,” Crescent said, chewing a bite of sandwich.
I groaned. “I told you, Moon. I’m usually here in uniform or at least running gear. I look really out of place.”
“Wait.” Crescent leaned forward, his eyebrows forming a V as he stared at me. “Isn’t that your shirt, Moon?”
“Yeah, and what about it? Em stayed the night and needed something to wear.”
“And you say you’re just friends.”
“We are! Emerson is straight.”
“Is he?”
At that, they both looked at me head-on. “Unfortunately, I don’t know that I’m anything but. Never say never, though, you know?”
“What about the thing you said the other day? Before you went to Moon’s house?”
Moon looked between us curiously. “What thing?”
“Well, I jokingly said maybe he could be more than a friend to you, and he said he’d just be there for you in any way you need him to be.” Crescent was pointing at me with a carrot from his lunchbox. I’d never really liked carrots.
“So you took what he said and ran a mile with it, Cres. Leave the man alone. Actually, just keep your nose out of our friendship entirely. I don’t need him to be my boyfriend.”
“You haven’t dated in years. I think you should at least go out with somebody, even if it isn’t Emerson. I worry about my big brother being so alone.”
“Your big, lonely brother is about to replace that sandwich of yours with a knuckle one if you don’t shut up.”
I smiled to myself, thinking about how much Crescent reminded me of Olivia. “He has good intentions, Moon. Let it lie.”
Moon was still scowling at Crescent. “Be glad I love you, Crescent Miller. I love you so much that I’m willing to stay here and listen to this slander until your lunch is over.”
“I don’t think slander is really the right word here.”
“Emerson. If you say another word, I will slap you. Right here, right now.”
“Okay, brat. Sure.”
Crescent raised his hand like a student in a classroom. “Might I add that I’m very glad Emerson is calling you out on your shit?”
Once again, Moon was quick with his answer. “No. Fuck off.”
All I could think of was just how lucky I’d been to find a family like theirs—one I felt like I could fit into, if I was allowed.
In my heart, there were three holes: one for Mom, one for Dad, and one for Harrison.
Each of them was in a different chamber in my heart, consuming them entirely.
The fourth one was free, waiting for someone to help fill it with love—platonic, familial, or otherwise.
I wondered if I had enough room for the entire Miller family, and if they’d let me become one of them. I wondered and hoped Moon would let me continue to be there for him, so that I could fill that piece of my heart up. So I could feel what big, unconditional love really felt like again.
As we all laughed together, sharing Crescent’s lunch break with him, I started to think maybe I was already feeling it.