Chapter 28
Mel had been signing people in as they came and overseeing the clean-up and small repairs, but they’d avoided being in the same room as Rhys as much as possible.
They kept messing up every time they saw him. It had made sense to avoid where Rhys was working. Which was probably the only way they would keep from putting their foot in their mouth.
It seemed to be an inevitability when they were around him.
They needed to get over whatever this was. He was here to help, and they needed to remember that. Certainly no reason to send him running. Not when they could use all the help they could get.
There didn’t have to be any more to it.
Except they saw him coming out of the study room with Denny at his side.
The two of them seemed to be engaged in a lively discussion.
Something Mel hadn’t seen from their little sibling in days.
The smile on Rhys’s face did things to Mel’s insides.
They brushed that away and moved over to intercept them.
“What do you have there?” they asked, nodding to the box Denny carried. Rhys also had a full garbage bag in his hands.
“Books.” The smile fell away as Denny handed the box to Mel. “These are the ones we could save. The rest were completely trashed. If I see that Liam—”
“You don’t know he was responsible,” Mel reminded them. “He said—”
“Right,” Denny said. “Because people like him never lie. Come on, Mel. It was obvious why he was waiting out there. He wanted to gloat about what he’d done.”
“He might not have been gloating,” Mel said. “That’s just what you assumed. Our assumptions aren’t always fact.” They glanced sideways at Rhys. “We should apologize when that happens. Not that the other person needs to accept.”
Rhys’s mouth tilted up. “You’re not the only one who’s been wrong about me. It’s fine.”
It wasn’t, but at least he’d understood. Mel hoped Denny did as well. Especially since the kid Mel had seen outside the center the other day had very much not been gloating. They weren’t sure they would ever convince Denny of that, unless the police found whoever vandalized the place.
From what Mel saw, they weren’t exactly looking too hard.
Rhys was still holding onto the bag of garbage. Which had to be getting heavy.
“I can go throw that in the dumpster.” And try to figure out how they were going to replace all those books. They’d scrimped and saved for so long to get them in the first place. The board hadn’t thought it a necessary expense.
Because seeing yourself represented in fiction apparently didn’t matter.
“I’ve got it.” Rhys grinned at them. “Just point the way.”
“I’ll show you.” Denny started off toward the back doors.
He slung the bag over his shoulder and followed Denny down the corridor. Mel didn’t take their gaze off him until a laugh beside them made them jump. Mel scowled at Caleb. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing.” He pressed his lips together. “You might want to wipe the drool away before they return.”
Mel started to wipe at their mouth then dropped their hand. “I hate you.”
“No, you don’t. Rhys is a good guy. There are worse ones to be drooling over.”
“I am not drooling.”
“Sure, you aren’t. Brock and a couple of the others are cleaning the last of the spray paint off the wall in the rec room. Where do you want us to go next?”
Mel looked around them. They had been going from room to room to make sure there weren’t any issues, but it still surprised them to see how much had been done.
Sure, there were still a couple windows to replace and other work they couldn’t do themself.
Otherwise… “I don’t think there really is anything,” they said.
“I don’t know what I would have done without your help. It’s almost like new already.”
“You would have gotten there,” he said. “Not that you should have ever had to.”
Mel opened their mouth to respond, but Denny’s shout from the end of the corridor had them off and running.