45. Drew
DREW
“Hey, Luna.”
She lets out a small meow in greeting.
I let her out of her carrier.
She strolls out, purring as she bumps against my leg.
“Sorry I kept you confined. You won’t be back in there for a while.”
She purrs louder, her big blue eyes staring up at me as if she forgives my poor life choices.
I scoop her up and carry her to the kitchen. I stand there for a minute, listening to the hum of the refrigerator and the faint settling sounds of the house.
After grabbing a bottle of water, I carry her to the couch and set her on it. I scratch her ears and murmur, “Sorry I was an irresponsible father who abandoned you for a drunken detective mission.”
She looks up at me, still purring.
“I know,” I mutter. “I’m a mess.”
She meows.
“Not helpful.”
I sit beside her, one arm resting on the couch cushion, and stare around the room.
The curtains Violet bought hang perfectly.
The TV she bought hangs on the wall.
Something about the house feels off. Like something’s missing.
Or someone.
I shake my head. “Nope. I’m not doing this.”
Luna blinks at me.
“Don’t look at me like that.”
She keeps looking at me.
“You’re judgmental like Mr. Pickles.”
I push to my feet and head to the kitchen.
I need food.
And maybe a personality transplant because apparently my current one thinks breaking into a woman’s house to prove she’s stalking me is reasonable.
My eyes drop to the bandage wrapped around my wrist. Violet put that there.
I still feel the way her fingers touched my skin. The way she cleaned every scratch. The way she teased me instead of making me feel like an idiot.
I make a sandwich, my thoughts on her.
Even though she left, she lingers everywhere.
My smile fades as I remember the binder.
That is… odd.
But maybe even stranger… she left without coming inside.
I take my sandwich to the couch, settling beside Luna.
My phone buzzes, startling me so much I nearly drop the plate.
Violet: I’m home.
Me: Thanks for driving me home.
Violet: Drink more water. Take some aspirin.
A laugh slips out before I can stop it.
Of course that’s what she says.
Me: Bossy.
Her reply comes almost immediately.
Violet: Concerned. And observant.
I stare at the last word.
Observant.
Yeah. That’s one way to describe it.
Another way would be the woman with a binder dedicated to me.
A binder I still haven’t fully processed.
Luna meows, batting at one of her toys like none of this is a crisis.
I look at her. “Your mom is terrifying.”
I freeze.
Mom?
No. Absolutely not.
I close my eyes. “Forget I said that.”
Luna pounces on the toy.
The house settles around me.
Violet: Goodnight, Drew.
She even uses punctuation when she texts. Because of course she does.
Me: Goodnight, Violet.
I stare blankly at the bottle of water.
Even though I know I should be unsettled, even though every logical part of me is screaming that tonight changed things... I’m not.
All I can think about is tomorrow.
And the fact that I want her here.
Somewhere along the way... Violet started feeling like someone who belonged here.