Page 24 of Give My Everything
“I’ll come out,” I say, and Hamish leaves me behind.
I glance around my office, knowing I should head home. The work can wait until tomorrow. I’m already ahead of schedule on a handful of things, and besides, maybe it will domegood to leave on time for once.
I head out to the front, pushing through the doorway that divides the offices and kitchen from the dining room, and come to a stop when I see Remmy at the unmanned hostess table, her eyes scanning the room.
Passing me briefly before returning.
And then she smiles at me.
Something friendly and genuine.
Jesus, how long has it been since I’ve had a smile like that aimed at me from anyone other than my younger sister?
I return her smile and walk in her direction.
“Hey Remmy. What can I do for you?”
Her mouth opens but no words come out, and I know she’s regretting her choice to stop by.
“Do you want to go back to my office and talk or…?”
“No, no. Not that. I’m…” She clears her throat. “I’m just here to see if we can set up a time to talk. You know, lay everything out.”
I tuck my hands in my pockets, nodding my head. “Yeah. We can set that up.”
She grins, her shoulders dropping. “Good. Because I just want to make sure…”
But she doesn’t finish her sentence as her eyes track someone across the room.
I turn to look behind me, realizing her eyes are focused on Hannah as she walks out a tray of food.
“Hannah works here?” she asks, her brow furrowed.
“Yeah. Has for a few months.”
“How did I not realize that?”
I lift my shoulders, unsure how to respond.
Her eyes look back to mine. “Do all of them come here a lot?”
It takes me a second to understand what she’s asking, but when I do, I finally get why Remmy suddenly looks so apprehensive.
Wyatt, Lucas, Lennon, Paige…that group was her group. If Hannah works here and she’s dating my brother,andshe’s Lucas’ sister, it would make sense that the crowd Remmy is now avoiding would be at Bennie’s often.
“Is that something you’re concerned about?” I reply, answering her question with a question, trying to feel this out.
She takes a minute to respond, but when she does, I can see her answer before she gives it to me. I can see it in how she pulls her shoulders back just slightly, in how she lifts her chin.
“Not at all. Just wondering if I’m going to be seeing them, is all. So are you free tonight or should we get together another day this week?”
Tilting my head to the side, I wish—not for the first time—that I could understand what is going on inside of Remmy’s head. Sometimes, she seems so sure and strong and resilient, rebellious and determined with a wicked sense of humor to boot.
Other times, she seems like a shell of that person. Fearful and nervous, a house of cards that could blow over at any moment with just a tiny puff of nothing.
What happened to make you so inconsistently fragile?
I push the thought away, reminding myself that it doesn’t matter if I know how Remmy’s mind works. It doesn’t matter if I understand what has made her who she is today.
