Eighteen
May Twenty-Second
Whitney
“Hey.”
Whitney looked up from the kitchen sink as Brittanya walked in, the familiar sound of the door closing behind her. The house had been so quiet with June suddenly gone, and the already vacant room next to hers made it feel even emptier. Whitney had started staying home more, not wanting Brittanya to be alone, and Fade had followed, spending his nights at her place instead.
Brittanya dropped her bag on the couch, her expression tight. “Have you heard?”
Whitney turned off the sink and dried her hands on a towel. “Heard what?”
“Wolfgang is gone.”
Whitney froze. “Are you serious? What do you mean, like... he left?”
She rounded the counter to face her friend fully, heart pounding.
“It was unusual to hear airplane motors this morning,”
Brittanya said, her voice low. “Which means June and her ex have finally left. And now no one can get a hold of Wolfgang. Max says he’s not home, not at work, and he’s not answering Marilyn or Amy’s calls. I tried calling him myself and got nothing.”
Whitney leaned against the counter, processing. “So... did he leave?”
“That’s what people are speculating.”
Brittanya’s arms folded tight across her chest.
“What the hell?”
Whitney’s mind spun at the thought. “She’s not going to remember him, right?”
“No,”
Brittanya confirmed quietly.
“Wow.”
Whitney let out a slow breath, the weight of it settling in her chest. “He’s brave. It would be kind of romantic if she did remember him, though.”
“It would,”
Brittanya agreed, though her voice was heavy with doubt.
“But how’s he going to get back? Can he come back?”
Brittanya shrugged. “I have no idea. I don’t even know how he left.”
“This is insane. If I ever had to leave, Fade better come after me.”
Whitney shook her head, stepping closer.
“I hope you don’t leave,”
Brittanya said with a small, sad smile. “I’m running out of friends.”
Whitney laughed softly and pulled her into a tight hug. “I don’t plan on it. Keep me updated?”
“I will.”
Brittanya hugged her back. “Is Fade coming over tonight?”
“Yeah,”
Whitney said.
May Twenty-Third
In the middle of her lunch, Whitney got a notification on her phone. She flicked her finger across the screen to pull it open. It read:
“ATTN 24 9th Street resident: A new housemate has been assigned to room A. Contact information has been imported to your device. Press here to jump to the individual's information.”
“What?”
she mumbled, brow furrowing. She was about to tap the link when another notification popped up:
“ATTN 24 9th Street resident: A new housemate has been assigned to room B. Contact information has been imported to your device. Press here to jump to the individual’s information.”
Her mouth fell open. “Two?”
she whispered in disbelief. Juniper had only just left. Her things were still in her room and everyone expected her to come back eventually. And now they were replacing her?
She scrolled to Brittanya’s contact and hit call.
It rang twice before she answered. “Hey, what’s up?”
“Did you see the notifications?”
Whitney stabbed a tomato wedge with her fork.
“I’m in the middle of giving a haircut, what notifications?”
“We’re getting two new roommates. Two.”
The line went quiet for a second. “What? I know it’s Placement Day for the graduates, but two?”
“Yeah,”
Whitney said, packing up her half-finished lunch.
“What about June’s stuff?”
“I have no idea.”
Whitney could hear Brittanya talking to someone on her end. Then she came back, voice rushed. “Can you start packing June’s things when you get home? I’ll store it in my room until we figure out what’s going on.”
“I can hold on to some of it too. Has anyone heard from Wolfgang?”
“No,”
Brittanya said, her voice tight with worry.
Whitney sighed. “Should I go talk to Margaret about this?”
“I don’t think so, Whit. Not yet.”
“Alright,”
she said reluctantly. “Talk to you later.”
June Fifthteenth
Fade
“I missed you coming over here as often as you did,”
Fade murmured, his fingers combing slowly through Whitney’s hair.
“I know,”
she sighed, her eyes drifting closed under his touch. “Brittanya actually knows the two girls who moved in, so maybe it’ll be easier for me to sneak back over here more often.”
He chuckled, his hand trailing down her back in lazy circles. “Any news on Wolfgang?”
“Yeah,”
she said, her voice softening. “He found her.”
Fade’s hand stilled. “What?”
“Marilyn says they’re at an old family cabin. They’re expecting to be on the next flight back.”
“That’s nuts.”
“I know,”
she agreed, propping herself up on her elbow to look down at him. “And... she remembered him.”
Fade’s brows lifted slightly, but his reaction stayed mild. “Huh. I’m glad.”
Picking up on his lack of enthusiasm, Whitney laid back down with a little huff. “You could sound more excited. It’s pretty amazing.”
He grinned, trailing his hand down the bare skin of her back, his fingers gentle and warm. “I’m happy for them. But I’m more focused on you right now.”
Her lips curved, but a thought still nagged at her. “Fade... would you follow me back if I got kicked off?”
His hand paused again, then moved to tilt her chin up so she met his eyes. “That’s a tough one,”
he admitted. “It depends where they’d take you. But yes — I’d find a way to follow you.”
His breath brushed her face, and she could see the truth in his eyes.
“I don’t plan on leaving,”
she whispered, “but I don’t think Juniper planned on it either.”
“Then let’s just plan on not leaving,”
Fade said softly. “Avoiding cops for the rest of my life sounds exhausting.”
She smiled, the tension easing from her body. “Alright. I can plan on that.”
With a contented sigh, she nestled back into his chest and closed her eyes, letting his warmth lull her toward sleep.
July First
Whitney
“So, what are we doing today?”
Whitney plopped into the car, buckling her seatbelt.
Fade glanced at her, one hand on the steering wheel. “I don’t want a repeat of last year, so I’ll celebrate your brothers’ birthday with you, that’s if that’s what you want.”
She hesitated. Last year had been rough, and she still felt a little embarrassed about how she’d handled it. “We don’t have to,”
she said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.
“The hell we don’t.”
He reached over and squeezed her knee. “How old would they be turning?”
She exhaled, scratching at her denim shorts. “Twenty-seven.”
Her head was in a better place this time around. She had come to terms with the fact that her brothers were adults with their own lives. If she ever found a way back, would they even want to come with her? Maybe they had families of their own, roots planted somewhere far away. Maybe they were still enlisted. Maybe they weren’t even in the same state or country.
The world had changed. And she had to be okay with moving on.
Fade’s thumb stroked back and forth on her leg. “Are you okay talking about this?”
She shrugged. “I’m not bothered by it.”
Unbuckling, she nodded toward the theater. “What’s playing today?”
“I have no idea.”
He smirked, pushing his door open. “But who says we’re watching it?”
Whitney met him at the front of the car, raising an eyebrow. “Fade, people are going to be in there.”
“It’s three o’clock. Nobody goes to the movies at three.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her close.
She rolled her eyes. “Well, sorry I didn’t get the memo. I’m not exactly dressed for it.”
Fade glanced down, taking in her jean shorts and tank top. A slow grin spread across his face. “You’ll be fine. Let’s just get in and see what we’re working with.”
He bought two tickets for a wholesome family movie and led the way to the screening room. As they stepped into the dimly lit space, families filled most of the rows.
Whitney gestured toward the crowd. “I don’t think it’s happening, Fade.”
He ignored her, leading her to the very back. As soon as they sat, he flipped up the armrest and draped his arm around her shoulders. She swung her legs over his lap, settling in.
From behind them, a few teenage boys muttered, their whispers just low enough that she couldn’t make out the words.
The screen flickered to life, bathing the room in bright colors. Fade’s hand brushed against her thigh, light, innocent. But it lingered.
A smirk tugged at the corner of her lips. If they weren’t going to get away with much here, they could at least warm up for later. She tilted her head up, catching his gaze, and lifted her nose toward his, an invitation.
He didn’t hesitate.
His lips met hers, firm but unhurried. His arm tightened around her, pulling her closer, while his free hand cupped the back of her head. The kiss deepened, and she felt the corners of his mouth curve when the boys behind them muttered, “Get a room.”
“Gross,”
another one whispered.
Fade bit her lip gently in response, smiling at each other. Her hand slid down to his thigh, fingers pressing into the fabric.
Then a voice behind them said, “Fade.”
He pulled back just enough to squint into the darkness. “Oh, hey, Terek.”
He reached back to swap the latest trending handshake.
Terek smirked. “What’s up?”
Fade turned back to Whitney. “School’s out. He’s been coming to the gym.”
She hummed in acknowledgment, her fingers still teasing his leg. “Okay.”
He leaned into her ear. “Let’s go home and finish this.”
Without another word, he took her hand and led her out.
July Fourteenth
“Thank you, Max. Sorry for asking you to do this on your wedding day.”
Brittanya paused, nodding as she listened. “Yeah, we’ll be there. Alright. See you later.”
She ended the call and turned to Whitney. “We have temporary access to Wolfgang’s apartment.”
Whitney tried the keypad, and the door flashed green before creaking open. Stale air met them as they stepped inside.
“Wow,”
she muttered, glancing around. “They really wasted no time putting in that housing application.”
Brittanya followed her, wrinkling her nose. “Probably had to do with Shianne being pregnant. I wouldn’t want to share an apartment with my husband and a newborn.”
“That’s true.”
Whitney inhaled sharply and waved a hand in front of her face. “Ugh, what is that smell?”
Brittanya pushed open a living room window. “Why are boys so gross?”
Whitney ventured into the open bedroom and opened the closet door. “Let’s hang Juniper’s clothes in here. I’m not comfortable going through Wolfgang’s stuff.”
She glanced around the mostly bare space. “I don’t mind buying some girlish bedding, maybe sprucing it up a bit so she has a space of her own.”
Brittanya nodded. “Let’s start with the bathroom, wipe everything down, clean the floors, then bring in her boxes.”
“Sounds good.”
Whitney grabbed a rag, sneering as she inspected the grimy sink. “I’ll take the bathroom.”
Brittanya planted her hands on her hips. “Maybe tomorrow, we can tackle the kitchen and living room?”
Whitney grinned. “Perfect.”
July Twenty-Third
Whitney sat on the couch at Fade’s waiting for Juniper and Wolfgang’s welcome back dinner tonight. Airplane motors sounded over the island early in the afternoon, so anyone listening would know they returned safely. Her phone chimed and she flipped it over.
Juniper: Do you have a top that is hot and goes with jeans?
Whitney: Yes! I can drop it off now. Miss me being your roommate already?
Juniper: Yes.
“I have to go!”
She jumped up and ran into Fade’s closet.
He barely had time to respond, “What?”
“Juniper needs me.”
She stepped back into the living room with a blue top. “I get to go see her first.”
Whitney gripped the shirt with both hands to her chest with excitement.
“Alright, are we still going to her welcome back dinner tonight?”
“Yeah? She just needs a top. I have to go!”
She closed the entry to the house and darted in the grass between the buildings towards Wolfgang’s apartment, now also June’s apartment. That’s new. She thought as she saw a black and chrome bike next to his Jeep. She knocked on the apartment door and Juniper quickly opened it. “June!”
She jumped inside, wrapping her arms around her, not realizing how much she actually missed her.
July Twenty-Ninth
“You ready?”
Whitney put the car in drive.
“Yes. Well... kind of nervous.”
June wrung her hands in her lap.
“Why?”
Whitney glanced over.
“I don’t know. Doesn’t it hurt?”
“Uh, no. Not really.”
She turned toward the salon. “It’s not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.”
“Oh. Okay.”
As they parked, Whitney smiled. “So what are you getting?”
“I was thinking of a one-line tattoo of a wolf howling at a star. The star symbolizes something for Wolfgang and me.”
Whitney’s eyes widened. “That’s adorable!”
“Let’s go. Murphy’s waiting.”