27. Drew
DREW
“Why are you all sweaty?”
I scream at the sound of her voice and whirl around. “Oh my God. My heart is beating out of my chest. “Ivy.”
She stands in the foyer, an amused smile on her face.
“You scared the hell out of me.”
“I noticed.” She tugs on her ear. “I think I lost part of my hearing from your scream.”
“Ha, ha.” I move away from the door, heading for the kitchen.
“What were you running from?” she asks from behind me.
“What makes you think I was running from something?”
She cocks her head. “Why else would you run?”
“Hey. I ran with your husband.” My tone is high-pitched. Defensive.
“You did. And I was almost as surprised that you did as I am that you just ran by yourself.”
“Long day. Needed to think.”
She moves past me, opening a cabinet. “So…”
I tense.
"Did you spend the day with Violet?"
"W-what?"
"Did you see her today?"
“Briefly.”
“Briefly?” She turns and looks at me.
“She had things to do.”
“Ah.”
I panic. "What does 'ah' mean?"
Shit. Too obvious.
I clear my throat. “I mean, why did you make that noise?”
She smirks at me. “She was busy. You went for a run.”
The sound of the knife slicing vegetables suddenly irritates the hell out of me.
“So?”
She stops chopping and reaches over to pat my shoulder. “It’s okay if you miss her.”
“I didn’t say I missed—”
“Who do you miss?” Sebastian’s voice comes from behind me.
Great. Just fucking great.
“No one,” I say.
“Violet,” Ivy immediately says.
“No.” I hold up my hand. “I didn’t say—”
“You don’t have to. I can see it,” Ivy chirps.
“Interesting,” Sebastian drawls.
“You don’t see anything.” I point at Ivy. “And what does interesting mean?” I ask Sebastian.
Ivy giggles. “Oh, Drew. You’re in denial.”
“Am not.”
Sebastian stares at me. “You’re hung up on this woman.”
“Hung up?” My mouth is suddenly dry.
“Yeah. Hung up,” he repeats.
“Oh, he’s smitten for sure,” Ivy adds.
“I’m not hung up. What does that even mean, anyway?”
Sebastian pulls out a chair and sits at the table. “The same thing as smitten.”
“I’m not.”
“Yeah, right,” they say in unison.
“Whatever. I’m going to wash up before dinner.”
I hurry from the kitchen like my pants are on fire.
I don’t miss Violet. Not like that.
I miss her like you miss something that’s become part of your day—until it’s suddenly not there.
I barely know her yet.
But I want to.
I want to know everything about her.
And that’s the problem.
By dinner, my knee is bouncing uncontrollably beneath the table.
Sebastian watches me like a hawk about to swoop in and grab a fish.
Say something normal.
I open my mouth and blurt out, “I’m moving out.”
My hand curls around my fork.
Fuck. That wasn’t normal.
Ivy’s fork clangs against her plate. “What?”
That didn’t come out right.
“I mean, I rented a place.”
Silence falls over the room, heavy and immediate.
“…You what?” she asks.
“I rented a house,” I repeat. “Signed a one-year lease.”
More silence.
“Since when were you looking at houses?” Sebastian asks.
“I wasn’t. Not really. I just... found one.”
“That doesn’t answer the question,” he says flatly.
“It wasn’t a big process,” I reply. “I saw it. Liked it. Went back. Signed.”
Ivy slowly picks up her fork. Like she needs something to ground her. “You just… decided?”
“Yeah.”
Her eyes widen. “Drew, that’s huge.”
“I know.”
“When did you do this?”
Oh, shit.
I shrug. “The other day.”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” she presses.
I shift in my chair. “I don’t know. I just… wanted to make sure first.”
Sebastian leans back in his chair, studying me. “This seems impulsive,” he says.
It is.
“It doesn’t feel impulsive,” I say.
That’s the truth. It feels... right. Like I was supposed to find it.
Then Ivy’s expression shifts, softening. “Well…” she says slowly, “is it far?”
“No,” I answer. “It’s just down the road. Old Mill Road.”
Sebastian’s brows lift. “That close?”
“Yeah.”
Ivy exhales, relief flickering across her face. “Okay... That’s not so bad.”
“You’ll still be around,” Sebastian adds.
“Exactly.”
There’s another beat of silence before Ivy breaks it.
“I want to see it,” she says, leaning forward, her eyes bright.
“Okay.”
“Tonight?” she adds.
I huff out a quiet breath. “It’s not exactly… ready.”
“What does that mean?” she asks.
“It needs work,” I say. “The yard’s overgrown. The inside’s fine, but—”
“Even better,” she cuts in. “We love a project.”
Sebastian nods. “She’s not wrong.”
I shake my head. “It’s not that kind of project.”
“What kind is it?” Ivy asks.
“The kind where I fix it,” I reply.
She gives me a knowing smile. “Okay,” she says. “But we still want to see it.”
I hesitate.
The truth is, I don’t know why I don’t want them there yet.
There's nothing to hide.
It's just... mine.
Somehow that matters more than it should.
“Drew,” Ivy says gently.
I glance at her.
“We’re not judging,” she adds. “We just want to see where you’re going to be.”
Sebastian nods once.
That’s it.
No pressure. Just support.
I exhale slowly. “Fine,” I say. “But don’t expect anything impressive.”
Ivy grins. “Oh, we’re absolutely expecting impressive.”
“You shouldn’t,” I mutter.
Sebastian just watches, analyzing me.
We finish dinner quickly after that.
Ivy practically bounces toward the door.
I grab my keys, glancing back at the house for a moment.
This place has been easy. Familiar. Safe.
But it’s not mine.
It’s my brother’s.
Ivy walks ahead of us, already talking about landscaping ideas.
Sebastian falls into step beside me. “You sure about this?” he asks quietly.
I glance at him.
Yeah. I am.
The house is the easy part.
Violet?
Not even close.
But I just say, “I think so.”
He studies me for a beat longer, then nods once. “Alright.”
I pull into the driveway and kill the engine, staring at the house. Something in my chest tightens.
“This is it?” Ivy asks from the backseat.
“Yeah.”
It looks… exactly how I remember.
Overgrown grass. Shutters that have seen better days. A place that needs work.
But still... It’s mine.
Ivy’s gaze sweeps over everything like she’s assessing a project. “Oh, I love it.”
I blink. “You do?”
“Are you kidding?” she asks, already walking toward the house. “This has so much potential.”
Sebastian joins me, his expression more reserved. “It’s quiet.”
“Yeah.”
Too quiet.
I ignore that thought.
I step up to the door and unlock it. I hesitate before pushing it open.
The house is still.
A faint chill settles over my skin.
Ivy walks in like she’s been invited a hundred times before, already heading toward the living room.
“Oh, this is a good space,” she says. “You can do so much with this.”
I follow her in, watching as she moves through the room.
Sebastian lingers near the doorway, taking it in.
“I mean, the floors are great,” Ivy continues, slowly spinning around. “You just need to clean, maybe repaint—”
She stops suddenly.
“What?” I ask.
She turns slightly, squinting toward the front window. “Did someone draw on that?”
My stomach tightens at the thought of what she sees.
The light catches the glass—just enough to reveal the faint heart.
I step forward quickly, rubbing my hand over it. Dust smears beneath my palm. The shape disappears.
“It’s just dirt,” I say.
Ivy tilts her head. “That looked like a heart.”
“It wasn’t.”
Sebastian’s gaze flicks between us.
He doesn’t say anything.
Which somehow feels worse.
“It’s cute,” Ivy says anyway, shrugging it off. “Adds character.”
“Yeah,” I mutter. “That’s one way to put it.”
She moves on quickly, heading toward the kitchen. “Oh! This is bigger than I expected.”
I follow her, grateful for the shift in focus.
“It’s not bad,” I say.
“Not bad?” she repeats. “Drew, this is great.”
Sebastian finally steps fully inside the house, closing the door behind him.
The sound echoes slightly.
He moves slowly through the room, scanning everything.
Not like Ivy. She sees potential.
Sebastian sees details. Things that don't quite fit.
“You clean yet?” he asks.
“Not yet,” I reply. “I figured I’d do that before the furniture gets delivered.”
“When’s that?”
“Next Saturday.”
He nods once, then pauses near the hallway.
His gaze shifts toward the back of the house.
He goes still.
Head tilting slightly, listening.
“What?” I ask.
He looks at me. “Nothing.”
I don’t believe him, but I let it go.
Ivy appears again, her energy completely undisturbed.
“You have to let me help with this,” she says. “Cleaning, decorating, all of it.”
“You don’t have to—”
“I want to,” she cuts in. “This is exciting.”
I glance at Sebastian.
He shrugs slightly. “She’s already committed.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
“It shouldn’t be.”
This is happening faster than I expected.
But as I look around the house—the light filtering through the windows, the space, the potential—it still feels right.
Even if something about it feels off...
It doesn't make me want to leave.
It makes me want to figure it out.