41. Lost & Found
Chapter 41
Lost it’s Peter. When he jerks his head to see me, his nose is red. His jaw is tense. He’s blinking a lot for a man with nothing in his eyes.
“Came to find you,” I lie, walking over to Izzy. “Sorry to interrupt.”
“No, it’s all right,” Peter says, sucking in a deep breath. It comes out shaky. “I’ve gotta get going anyway.” He forces a smile. “Don’t wanna miss my chance at meeting my new niece. All these new girls are gonna be the death of us, huh?”
“You’ll be all right,” Izzy says, monotone and sarcastic.
“Yeah. I guess so.”
He tries to rush past, but I land a palm on his shoulder before he can turn the corner.
“I’m sorry,” I say. “For punching you.”
I know all too well what it’s like to not feel like you’re enough. We might never see eye to eye, but we can start here. For Izzy. For Bonnie.
“Nah.” He taps his purple cheek. “Thanks for knocking some sense into me.”
“Anytime.”
He laughs half-heartedly. “Yeah. Well …”
When we both go quiet, Peter’s eyes dart to Izzy before averting away. He says nothing else—not even a goodbye—as he turns the corner down the hall. Izzy doesn’t move. She’s frozen with her hands on her hips. They’re shaking.
“I’m sorry,” I murmur.
“Whatever,” she says, gritting her teeth. Her eyes haven’t left the place where Peter walked away.
The blank space is filled quickly by an instant breath of fresh air. It’s my bopping redhead with a beaming smile.
“There you are!” Bonnie says. “I thought you’d gotten lost.”
“I did,” I admit, letting the smile spread over my face.
Bonnie halts in place. Her eyes roam over Izzy. “Oh my God, what’s wrong?” She throws a thumb over her shoulder. “I just saw Pete. Did he?—”
Izzy closes her eyes tight and shakes her head. “I’m honestly not in the mood to talk about my feelings right now, Bon.”
Bonnie’s shoulders slouch as she nods. “Oh. Okay.”
Bonnie shuffles over to me, and silently, we make coffee behind Izzy. I keep expecting Izzy to leave, but she’s a statue. Fists clenched at her sides. Eyes locked on to nothing at all.
Bonnie brushes against my arm to get my attention. Her eyebrows are cinched in, darting from me to Izzy and back, as if questioning. I rub her forearm in return, but give no answer. Not yet anyway.
“He was right,” Izzy suddenly blurts out.
Bonnie startles. “Who?” she asks. “About what?”
Izzy’s head swivels to me. Her brow is furrowed. Her chin quivers. “I can’t keep waiting for him to see me.”
Bonnie and I exchange glances, but Bonnie strides to Izzy in two seconds flat, immediately leaning her head on Izzy’s shoulder. I set my coffee down and place a hand on Izzy’s back, stroking in circles. Bonnie is on the opposite side, now wrapping her arms around Izzy’s.
“God, you really are the cooler sibling,” Izzy chokes out through another laugh.
“I know,” Bonnie says.
I reach behind Izzy’s back and pinch Bonnie’s arm.
She grins at me, and I playfully roll my eyes.
Brat.