Page 62 of The Fractured

“Yes. I did. I figured I had procrastinated making an appointment long enough.” She cupped her tea once more with her shoulders raised slightly, talking fast. “I start Monday.”

“Yeah?”

“Mhm. They seem really nice too…”

“But?”

She shook her head. Eyes wide and innocent. “There’s no buts.”

I lifted an eyebrow.

“Okay. One but… I’m a little nervous talking about everything. That’s all.”

“The first few sessions won’t be easy, but it’s a good step.” I cupped her face in my hands again. “I’m proud of you.”

She smiled, but her nerves were still there. They made her happiness wane for a moment before she quickly changed the subject.

“Oh! Before I forget.” She turned to the counter beside us, putting down her tea as she reached for the designated house key bowl on the furthest side of the counter. When she plucked out a brand-new set of apartment keys and a swipe card, I smiled knowingly.

“These are for you,” she beamed, dropping the keys and card into my open hand. “I figured this would make coming and going easier.”

They were more than keys. They were the next step. Not quite an invitation to live together, but something to bring what we had closer. The first of these kinds of steps had come in the form of a toothbrush after her stay in the hospital. She was content to have me in her space as I was having her in mine.

I smoothed my hand around to the back of her neck and brought her close to kiss her. She smiled against it and emitted a giggle as her hands lay on my chest.

“I didn’t think a set of keys would bring on this reaction.”

“I am a simple man.”

Her laughter gave me life.

“Well,” she continued, smiling, “You might want to pull up your pants because I think they’re done.”

I glanced down to where my shorts still sat below my hip and readjusted the waistband to cover myself. “Better?”

“Yes,” she laughed, turning away from me.

I kissed her on the cheek and went back to icing my hip as Kira’s bedroom door opened again.

My ears were pricked as I kept my eyes down, and Lily had lifted her oversized teacup to her lips as she peered over the rim at them entering the room.

Seb was right about Lily and I being as bad as Susan, but we were concerned for our friends. If they didn’t reconcile, things would be awkward.

Going off the smiles on their faces and the fact that Kira was scrawling what looked to be her mobile number on a post-it note, everything was good again.

“In case transferring contacts from your old phone doesn’t work,” Kira said as she handed Seb the note.

“I should get it tattooed on me or something, so I don’t forget it,” Seb said as they wandered to the couch.

Kira paused with slight amusement in her eyes as she looked at him quickly. “Please, don’t do that.”

“Right.” Seb snapped his fingers in realization. “Dedication tattoos seem to curse relationships.”

“Exactly.”

Lily casually approached me, bumping her hip into my non-bruised thigh as she offered me a small grin. “He’s worried about cursing their relationship,” she whispered, containing her excitement as she padded over to the couches.

I grabbed a bag of frozen corn from the freezer, still clutching the frozen peas to my hip, and headed for the living room. Dumping the bag of frozen corn in Seb’s lap in passing, which he promptly pressed to his nose with a hum of relief, I dropped into the space beside Lily on the couch and pulled an arm around her.