Chapter Twenty-Three
The weekend came like a sigh. After the long week that took too many days to get through, I wanted nothing more than to stay in bed and pretend the world didn’t exist.
Then Micah called.
“Come on,” he said through the phone, his voice bubbling with that unrelenting optimism that always found a crack in my armor.
“We’re coming over. Me, the twins, and Margo.
She got out of the hospital during the week and wanted to see you again.
” He paused, finally losing some of his excitement. “If that’s fine with you.”
“Do I really have a choice?” I asked.
“Not really. See you soon.” He hung up.
Thirty minutes later, my front door swung open after a brief knocking, and Hazel appeared first. “Emergency delivery of friends and food!”
Lillian followed with two pizzas stacked in her arms, Micah with a karaoke microphone and Bluetooth speakers, acting like he was hosting a concert.
Slowly, behind them, Margo slipped in quietly.
Her auburn hair was pulled back in a ponytail, and she looked a lot better than when I had seen her in the hospital.
Margo blushed and waved awkwardly. “I, um, brought cookies.”
“Chocolate chips?”
“Is there another kind?” she asked.
I chuckled. “Nope.”
The house filled quickly with life. Hazel claimed the couch while Lillian got the food set out on a table I had sitting in front of the window. She laid out the pizza and bowls of other snacks, forming a buffet line. Micah took over the living room, syncing the karaoke machine to the TV.
I thought it was just going to be us, but then my front door opened and Toby and Justin came in. Toby looked all too proud of himself, and I didn’t miss the looks exchanged between them and Micah.
“I’ve brought gifts,” Toby said with bags of chips and drinks.
Justin was behind him with what looked like a takeout bag.
“Figured I’d make sure you ate something other than just sugar and grease,” he said, setting it on the table next to the pizza boxes. I gave him a grateful smile. While I loved pizza and candy, I had no doubt that by the end of the night, I’d end up sick.
“Good luck,” Toby said, already halfway through one of Margo’s cookies. He hummed in approval and swiped another cookie.
“Don’t test me,” Justin warned, snatching the cookie from Toby’s hand.
The night unfolded in waves of laughter and pure silliness.
Lillian and Micah performed a Broadway musical song with theatrical intensity, making Hazel practically fall off the couch with how hard she was laughing.
Toby and Justin followed, tackling a different song with enthusiasm.
More accurately, Toby shouted every wrong lyric while Justin deadpanned his way through the right ones.
I hadn’t laughed that hard in weeks.
Then Seth showed up.
He leaned against the doorframe with his half-smile and his dark T-shirt reading BBQ Makes Everything Better. His eyes met mine, and the noise faded a little.
“You’re missing quite the show,” I said as he came over.
“Looks like it.” He nodded toward Toby, who was attempting to moonwalk with a broom.
I smiled. “It’s nice having everyone here.”
“You needed this,” he said.
“Yeah, I think I did.”
There was a pause, one that stretched warm and heavy between us.
“Seth,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry about the other night. I’ve been all over the place. I don’t even know what I’m doing anymore. With everything. With Paxon. With us.”
He studied me for a long moment, expression calm but sincere. “You don’t need to have it all figured out right now. Just promise me something.”
“What?” I asked.
He leaned close enough for me to feel his warmth. “Don’t shut yourself off while you’re trying to find your footing, okay? Like how you don’t like us disappearing on you, you can’t do the same to us. Okay?” He held his pinky out to me.
I stared at it for a long moment before looping mine with his, feeling like we were small children. “I just don’t want to lose anyone.”
“You won’t,” he said.
Toby broke the moment, calling from the front of the room. “Cadence! You’re up next. No escaping your fate.”
I groaned. “Saved by karaoke.”
Seth chuckled. “Go. You’re better than all of them combined anyway.”
I walked over and grabbed the mic. “That’s a bold claim,” I said, glancing back at Seth.
“It’s true,” he said easily.
The opening chords of the song filled the air.
I started to sing, hesitant at first as I tried to remember how this song worked.
Slowly my voice grew stronger the more I got into the song.
Toby clapped along offbeat, Hazel added ridiculous harmonies, and Margo mouthed the words with a smile that made my chest warm in a good way.
When I finished, the room erupted in cheers and laughter.
Margo leaned over the back of the couch, eyes bright. “You still don’t realize how much your music helps people, do you?” she said. “Every time I hear you sing, it feels like breathing gets a little easier.”
Her words struck deep. I smiled, a little shaky. “Thank you, Margo.”
The rest of the night was pure noise and joy. Micah and Lillian bickered over duet choices. Toby tried to teach Margo a ridiculous dance, and Justin ended up laughing so hard he was holding on to his side.
When everyone finally left, the house became too quiet again.
I could still hear the echoes of all the laughter and singing, but it didn’t compare to when everyone was actually here.
I stood in the middle of the living room, surrounded by half-empty soda cans and cookie clumps, smiling despite myself.
“Need help cleaning?”
Justin stood by the doorway, jacket in hand, but not quite ready to leave. His voice was soft, carrying that steadiness that helped me feel calm.
“I thought you were heading to Seth’s with Toby for a boys’ sleepover?” I teased.
He rolled his eyes at that. Once Toby mentioned sleeping over at Seth’s, we teased them relentlessly about their boys’ sleepover party.
“I was, but you looked like you could use the company.”
I tried to play it off with a teasing grin. “So you’re saying I look pitiful?”
“No,” he said simply, walking toward me. “You look tired.”
He started picking up the soda cans before I could argue, setting them neatly on the counter. His quiet presence filled the space as he simply existed without demanding anything from me. And somehow, that was exactly what I needed.
“Thanks,” I said. “You don’t have to—”
“I know.” He smiled faintly. “But I want to.”
We cleaned in easy silence until the room looked somewhat decent again. When I turned to thank him, he was already watching me.
“What?” I asked, self-conscious under his gaze.
“Nothing,” he said, though his voice had dropped lower. “I just like seeing you relaxed.”
I let out a breathy laugh, shaking my head. “I don’t think I’ve felt that in a while.”
“Maybe it’s time to change that.”
The words hung between us, quiet but charged.
Before I could think too hard about it, I stepped closer. “You know, you’re dangerously good at saying the right thing.”
He smiled, just barely. “That’s because I don’t say much. Can’t say the wrong thing if I don’t talk in the first place.”
I laughed and shook my head. “No. You save them for when they count.”
“Maybe.” His voice dropped slightly. “Or maybe I just wait for someone who’s worth saying them to.”
That made my heart stop for half a second.
He didn’t move closer, but his eyes met mine, calm and unflinching. The distance between us didn’t feel like a distance anymore.
I reached for him before I could talk myself out of it.
He caught my hand halfway, fingers sliding against mine, and then he leaned in.
The kiss was soft, but it didn’t take him long to deepen it when I responded by leaning closer to him.
His thumb brushed against my cheek as if he couldn’t believe I was really there.
When we finally pulled apart, his forehead rested against mine, both of us breathing softly.
“You okay?” he murmured.
“Yeah,” I whispered. “I think so.”
He smiled faintly. “Good.”
We ended up on the couch together, legs tangled, my head resting against his shoulder while a muted movie flickered in the background. His hand traced slow, absent circles over my knuckles, and every few minutes, he pressed a quiet kiss into my hair.
I loved how quickly the day went from lonely, to overwhelmed with laughter, to this relaxed calmed state.
I was so relaxed that I was already dozing by the time Justin gave me a quick kiss goodnight and headed over to Seth’s for the night.
I almost asked him to stay for the night but thought better of it and reluctantly let him go.