Cade
Irode to Rocky Neck in a blur, and didn't stop till I was right outside the teal door.
I sat there for a minute, the engine ticking beneath me, second-guessing myself. Then I got off my bike and walked up to the step.
I hesitated, just like Avery had done that day. Had she felt like this? My heart was racing and my body shaking. My mind was spinning through every version what might happen when that door opened.
I knocked.
An older woman opened it. The same face from when I’d dropped Avery off.
I stepped back and said, "Hello, ma'am."
I saw movement behind her. I looked past her shoulder and…
Hold it to-fucking-gether, Cade. No one needs you to fall apart.
I managed a smile. My eyes locked onto her and wouldn't let go.
The last time I'd seen her she'd been smooth-shaven.
Now a soft silver-gray fuzz coated her scalp. The reality of what she'd been through hit home in a way it hadn't before.
It didn't make her look weak.
If anything, with nothing left to hide behind, the sharp line of her jaw and the fierce look in her eyes seemed even stronger.
She looked completely unfiltered.
Like a blade without its sheath.
"You look beautiful," I said.
"Thanks." Her whole face lit up. "You look hot."
"You certainly do," her mom said from beside the door, one hand still on the frame.
"I'm Cade," I said to her.
"Cade." She said my name like she'd already heard it a dozen times. "It is so nice to meet you." She had a beautiful face, same bone structure as her daughter. Same warmth when she smiled.
I couldn't stop looking past her. It must have been obvious because she stepped aside without a word so I could see Avery fully. Standing there in the hallway of her mother's house, arms at her sides, eyes bright and sparkling.
Was that from seeing me? I hoped so. She wasn't pissed, at least. That was something.
"Come in," she said. Her voice was a little weak. A little thin. But the smile hadn't dropped.
I pulled off my boots and placed them to one side, and set my helmet down beside them. I lined them up neatly without thinking about it. My nervous hands needed something to do.
I stepped inside and let my eyes move around the little house. It was small and cozy, with art on every wall. Watercolors, acrylics, a few pencil sketches in mismatched frames. Someone in this house made things. I could smell lavender and coffee and something baked that had cooled from earlier.
Her mom told me her name. Alice. I could call her Ali. The way she said it, the way she touched my arm when she passed… it was like visiting old friends. Like I'd already been here a hundred times.
Avery hadn't said anything more. She just plopped herself down on the sofa and couldn't seem to stop smiling. It made my chest tight in a way that had nothing to do with pain.
I was at a loss for words myself. So I just stood there like an idiot for a second, grinning back at her.
It was so quiet. Just the muffled sound of the occasional car or bike passing the front door. A bird somewhere out back.
"Coffee?" Ali asked, gesturing toward the kitchen counter where a black Mr. Coffee machine was letting out a loud, rhythmic hiss. "I've got a fresh pot brewing."
"Black is fine, ma'am. Thank you."
She nodded, pulling three ceramic mugs from the cupboard. "Take a seat. It'll just be a second."
I sat across from Avery. Close enough to reach out and touch her if I had the nerve.
"How have you been?" she asked.
"Good. Yeah. Good." But I was now.
More importantly… “What about you?"
"I've been doing real good," she said. And I believed her. The color in her face, and the steadiness in her hands. She looked like she was winning the fight.
Ali handed me a mug and I took a gulp. It wasn't too hot, thankfully. But before I could swallow, the front door opened and I nearly spat coffee across the floor.