Page 372 of Branded
“I’ll help him,” Mary said softly, and hell if my eyes didn’t tear up. Again. Even though Mary and I had cried plenty over the last few days.
I was going to miss my friend.
Mary had become family and?—
I sniffed.
“Oh no,” Mary said, her eyes going glassy and shaking her head at me. “I can’t function if you do that.”
“I’m okay,” I croaked, waving a hand in front of my face.
“I’ll only be fifteen minutes away,” Mary said. “And I’ll still be babysitting. And we’ll have time to hang out now that you’re not working full time at CeCe’s.”
I was still working, and probably always would. I needed to feel secure in my ability to provide for myself, for Ethan. But when the new semester had approached and Cas had suggested that Ethan and I move in with him so I could pick up a few extra classes, he’d done it telling me that he loved me and that he was sick of the two houses bullshit. Then he’d done it, reminding me that I had him and Nonna JoJo and Ace, Kathy, Sam, and Margot, and Mary (not to mention Beth, Hazel, Pru, and Kailey and Smitty and Raph and Oliver and even Theo).
He’d gently reminded me that I wasn’t alone any longer.
That I had a family and a support system, and I could lean on them so as “not to be in school for the next decade.”
It made sense.
I wanted that future.
I wanted that family.
I’d still talked to Ethan first. But considering that Cas had done up a guest room for him weeks before, taking Ethan to Target and letting him pick the sheets and bedspread and lamp and beanbag and bookshelf—basically kitting out Ethan’s room into an epic Minecraft slash hockey slash Squishmallow-filled spaced, Ethan hadn’t been a hard sell.
Then I’d looked at the class schedule, had gotten excited, and had signed up for all the classes.
I’d thought Matt would be angry when I asked to reduce my hours.
But my boss—who’d struggled and struggled and eventually found his own happiness—had just cupped my jaw, looked deeply into my eyes, and wished me all the best.
“It’s only fifteen minutes,” I agreed with Mary now, mostly because if I didn’t, Mary and I would turn into sobbing messes. Again.
Partly because I was so freaking happy.
Partly because this was a big change.
Partly because we’d been reduced to sobbing messes several times already that morning.
“Yup.” Mary sniffed, her eyes still glassy.
My vision blurred and the sobbing messes probably would have made a reappearance if not for the knock on my apartment door.
“I’ve got it!” Pounding feet echoing down the hall.
“Look out the window first,” I called.
A hitch in those footsteps. Then, “It’s Lake!”
More light. More bright.
“Go,” Mary ordered softly. “I’ll finish this box up and then I need to go study.”
So bright that I needed sunglasses.
I hugged my friend, whispered, “Fifteen minutes,” and then ignored both of our sniffles as I snagged the hand Cas extended, let him pull me to my feet.
