Chapter 12
Chapter
Twelve
REED
ImpossiblyBookish
so, should i save up for nipple rings or an ass tattoo?
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Well
Good morning to you too
Impossiblybookish
good morning h
Hemingway_Cansuckit
Hmmm. A tattoo is forever, so seems like a better investment.
But how often do you look at your own ass?
Impossiblybookish
what if the tattoo wasn’t for me?
hemingway_cansuckit
Wait, who’s it for??
Who would see it?
Are you…seeing someone?
Are they worth the pain and money of having something on your body forever?
Impossiblybookish
look at you being a lil jealous.
it’s cute
are YOU seeing anyone?
hemingway_cansuckit
No, not seeing anyone.
I’m not jealous!
It’s your body and your choice.
Impossiblybookish
truly the hottest six words a man could type
hemingway_cansuckit
But I kind of felt like…
Nevermind
Impossiblybookish
telllll me
hemingway_cansuckit
We never talked about what it is we’re doing here
And it’s fine if it’s just having fun.
But, no. I’m not seeing anyone.
Not while we’re…IDK, whatever it is we’re doing.
Whatever last night was.
And all the other nights.
But I don’t expect you to change anything for me
Please for the love of god say something
Or I’m just going to keep typing and spiraling.
……..
……..Hello???
Bookish!
Impossiblybookish
you’re so cute when you’re flustered.
hemingway_cansuckit
You’re enjoying this, aren’t you?
Torturing me.
Impossiblybookish
lil bit
….
fiiine
i’m not seeing anyone either.
i was when we first started chatting, but she was a bust.
hemingway_cansuckit
I think this is the part where I release a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.
Impossiblybookish
fucking hell you’re adorable.
what if I told you…
…
…
…
…
hemingway_cansuckit
Well at least now I know whether you’re a masochist or a sadist.
Cause it’s pretty obvious what your allegiance is, *sadist.*
Impossiblybookish
{gif of ‘why not both’}
…
…
hemingway_cansuckit
IMPOSSIBLY.
MIDDLE SCREENNAME.
BOOKISH.
Impossiblybookish
what if I told you the tattoo was
…for you?
hemingway_cansuckit
Oh
Well now I feel bad for yelling.
Jesus.
That’s so…hot.
And…nice?
Nice hot?
I AM flustered.
Impossiblybookish
i know you’re partial to the
hemingway_cansuckit
But you’d…do that?
For me?
Impossiblybookish
anything for you, h
“ A nd finally, this checkout section will be a place where we can sell merch,” Reed said with a bright smile.
The Parker sisters had come over for the tour he’d promised. He was starting to understand their unique personalities. Rose was bossy but loving, Violet was as sweet as they came, and he and Lily had a lot in common creatively. They ping-ponged ideas about the store as he walked them through.
“This is amazing!” Violet said, clapping her hands. “You said the romance section is going to be two whole bookcases?”
“Yes. Maybe four.”
She bounced with happiness. “I can give you a list of all my favorite authors.”
“Here are two referrals, one for painting, and one for on-call plumbing once your contractors are done with the remodel,” Rose said, handing him two business cards.
“You said this was the library?” Lily said, hopping on top of the card catalog and dangling her feet.
“In the 20s and 30s,” he said, hopping up beside her. “A library, then a fire station, hence the fireman’s pole.” He pointed over in the corner. “Then I think it was some sort of county office in the ’70s, then they sold it to a bank in the 90s.”
“Mmm, I remember the bank,” Rose said as she typed distractedly on her phone.
Lily unwrapped a crunchy granola bar she’d had in her back pocket and crunched on it as she looked up at the fireman’s pole. “What are you gonna do with this?”
The crunch of the bar sounded like a gunshot in the room.
The crackling.
The crunching.
Reed smiled to cover his grimace. “I can’t use it unfortunately. It’s a liability.”
“What about some sort of, like, circular shelf that goes all the way down, surrounding it so it’s an artistic display. Ooh, or like book pages shooting out around the pole like they’re water,” she said between crunching bites of the granola bar.
With every crunch, his skin jolted, and he gulped, trying to push down the irritation growing under his skin.
“That’s an amazing idea. No wonder your store is so gorgeous.”
“ All of my stores are gorgeous,” Lily said with a jaunty smile, locking her arm through his.
The joy at having friends, maybe even siblings, just barely outweighed the scratching irritation in his brain at the loud crunches.
“I think it’s time we address the elephant in the room,” Rose said, stowing her phone in her back pocket which Reed had already noticed was more like a holster for it.
Rose looked at him expectantly. “Is there a world where we might be related?”
“Um.” He scratched the back of his head, wincing. “So, the guy who my mom, you know…”
“Fucked?” Lily supplied.
“Slept with,” Violet corrected, shaking her head at Lily.
“The guy who might be my father—who is my biological father,” Reed corrected. “H-his name…his name was Frank,” he stuttered, finally admitting it out loud to as much to himself as to them.
They gasped.
“I’ve never had siblings before,” he said quickly. “I love people, but they overwhelm me. I’m one of those extroverted introverts.” Or autistics , he thought privately. “It seems astronomically rare for us to meet.”
“It’s not, really, though,” Violet said sweetly. “I looked it up. Apparently, half-siblings meet all the time. Plus, your mom and our dad probably met somewhere in the area.”
Rose nodded. “Having sisters is a lot?—”
“The nicknames.” Violet rolled her eyes.
“Nicknames? What about the teasing?” Lily said, pushing at Violet with her foot.
“And the bickering,” Rose said with an eye roll. “Having siblings is truly the best. Would you be up for doing a DNA test?”
Reed felt like the odd man out with the three of them staring at him, but for the first time in his life, he had a chance at being in a club that no one could kick him out of.
“I haven’t told my parents yet. Well, my mom and my stepdad who adopted me, but…” He bit his bottom lip. “I’m in,” he said, feeling like he’d jumped into the deep end of a pool.
“Great!” Rose reached in her back pocket. “Here’s the swab.”
“ Rose .” Violet threw her head back in exasperation. “He just agreed. Don’t scare him off.”
Holy fuck . “Is she always this prepared?” he asked Lily.
She nodded. “You’ll get used to feeling ambushed with love.”
One of the weird side benefits of his amazing pattern recognition (courtesy of his autism) was that he almost always had a correct feeling about people. If he liked or disliked them immediately, he found later that there was some reason for it.
He had a bright, sunny warmth in his chest when he looked at the three faces in front of him.
“Let’s do it.” He followed the complicated steps, and two minutes later, he was all done.
Violet smiled hopefully. “Look, whatever happens. Whether we’re related or not, we could always just be your friend. We just miss our dad and…”
“And I look just like him?” he realized.
Violet nodded with a small grimace.
What would it be like to see the ghost of his grandpa walking around?
Gutting , he concluded. Their insistence finally made sense.
“And our dad,” Violet continued, “though you didn’t know him, would want us to take care of you whether or not we’re related. Just because you’re new to town and everybody needs a friend.”
A wash of something hit him.
What was that?
It was an emotion. Gratitude? Sadness?
Longing , he realized.
Because whoever the Parkers’ dad was, he sounded pretty great.
Rose started toward the door. “We should get going. Lots to do today in the world of flowers.”
“Is it weird if I give you a hug?” Violet said, barely keeping her anticipation in check.
“As long as you don’t mind a really strong one back,” Reed said, feeling emotional.
“Oh my gosh, that’s my favorite.” Violet laughed. When she wrapped her arms around him in a firm hug, Reed felt like a piece that he hadn’t known was missing clicked into place.
“Let me know if you need any more arms twisted for your construction, okay?” Rose said as she slid her sunglasses back onto her nose.
“That’s Rose’s version of a hug,” Lily said with a wink and a quick hug.
The three of them walked back to Bloom, and Reed rubbed the center of his chest.
This was too many feelings for a Monday. The weight of getting the bookstore exactly right on the first try as he watched his savings dwindle down, paying for all the expenses, for Pearl’s time, for ordering the books.
Still lying to my parents.
And now, maybe three new family members he could have for the rest of his life only a stone’s throw away.