Page 18 of If You Go
“Down the hall, first door on the left!” she shouts back, perched on Josh’s knee, playing charades like a queen.
I wander the hall, distracted by the empty walls—bare, not a single picture, not even art. The apartment feels so put together until you enter this area, like it was forgotten. As if they had made it all the way to this point and either didn’t care or didn’t know what to do.
At the crossroads, I hesitate. Light seeps from under the left door. The right one is dark. Logic tells me left is occupied, so I twist the knob on the right and step inside.
And I freeze.
My sugar and alcohol induced haze evaporates in an instant. Standing before me is a man, no. A god. A towel slung low on his hips, long dark hair dripping water onto a chest carved like marble, ink scrawled over muscle. The overhead light is off, and just the lamp on his desk remains on, explaining the darkness under the door. His eyes catch mine, sharp and unyielding.
“Enjoying the show, darling?” His voice is low, gravelly. Dangerous. His hand loosen’s on the towel slightly, causing it to highlight the sacred V-line and light trail of dark hair that disappears under the white material.
Oh, fuck.
This man. This beast. This GOD. He growled. He called me DARLING. I don’t know what to do with myself. All I can do is stare at him.
He has long, shoulder-length dark brown hair that is freshly wet from the shower. His body is chiseled from marble; there is simply no other explanation. The deep V that cuts down into the towel leaves little to the imagination. Especially when I can see the uh, the outline, underneath. He is absolutely enormous. Hasto be bigger than six foot four, is my bet. I am sure I look insane now, just staring at him. But what else is a girl to do.
CHAPTER SEVEN
ONCE WE LEFTthe tattoo shop, we met Joshua and Juniper here. They were asleep on the couch. It was clear that the immediate threat was not to us, nor June, but we wanted to keep an eye on her anyway. She will now be taking up residence in our guest room for the foreseeable future.
I had seen them first so I kept quiet, but Corver hadn’t seen them so he was loud and talking plans as we walked in, waking both Joshua and June up. They scooted away from each other, trying not to be obvious they were just wrapped up in one another seconds earlier. We both didn’t say anything, it wasn’t the time to give Josh shit. Honestly, we were all too tired to tease each other right now anyway.
I went straight to the kitchen to grab a drink, pulling out a Redbull that had been calling my name since the glass first crunched under my boots at the shop.
Juniper is the only person who sleeps in our guest room, but I have a suspicion that she doesn’t actually sleep in there. Instead, I think she is actually staying with Joshua. But that’s not on my list of things to worry about. They can worry about that themselves. My only focus is to keep them all safe, not worry about their love lives if that’s even what you would call it. But anyone with eyes can see that they have a thing for each other.
We settle in for the night, ordering dinner and then watching a movie before heading off to bed to hopefully forget the day that we had.
Four days pass in a blur.
Not quiet, not peaceful—just… suspended. Like we’re all waiting for the next hit to land.
Corver’s barely left his office in all that time. The door stays half-shut, blue light leaking through the crack like some kind of warning. The sound of typing, the occasional clatter of a dropped pen, and the steady arrival of takeout bags are the only proof he’s still alive in there. If he’s cooked a single meal, I haven’t seen it. He says he’s “researching,” but we all know that means he’s obsessing.
Josh and Juniper made a quick run to her apartment on the second day—mostly to check on her plants, which she swears have abandonment issues. She came back with half a duffel of her things, though she hasn’t worn any of them. Every time I’ve seen her since, she’s been swimming in Josh’s shirts, her hair a permanent tangle, her feet bare against the hardwood.
She’s restless, pacing from room to room like a caged cat. But if you look at Josh—really look—you can see it’s heaven for him. Her chaos is his calm. The man’s never looked more content in his life than he does sitting on that couch watching her wear holes into the floorboards.
When Corver finally emerges this evening, his eyes are bloodshot, and he looks like he hasn’t slept since the dawn oftime. He just mutters something about “needing more coffee” and disappears again. Typical.
I drop onto the couch beside Josh with a sigh that feels like it comes from somewhere deep in my bones. The cushions mold around me, claiming me instantly. “If I move from this spot, assume I’ve been abducted,” I mutter, leaning my head back.
Juniper breezes past the hallway at that exact moment—freshly showered, hair scraped up in a wild bun, wearing yet another one of Josh’s shirts that’s too big to be decent. She looks relaxed, smug even, which makes me suspicious immediately.
She pauses, eyeing me with that mischievous glint I know too well. “Oh, by the way…” she singsongs, grabbing a Red Bull from the fridge like she owns the place. “I invited everyone over. Hope you don’t mind, B! Love you!”
I groan and lift my head just enough to glare at her. “Juniper, if by ‘everyone’ you mean anyone who breathes, Idomind.”
She flashes me a grin over her shoulder. “Too late. Already texted them.”
She saunters past, humming, and I sink deeper into the couch. The same couch that’s been my second home for the past four days.
“Again, who is everyone, June Bug?” Using the nickname that she despises gets her attention immediately. She stops what she’s doing and fully turns to look at me.
“You know. Hazel, Richie, Alisha, Sam, Selene…Surry.” She whispers Surry’s name hoping I won’t hear, but I’m not as old as she pretends as I am.
“You invited Surry here? That is a really bad idea, June.” The last thing we need is Gavin to be keeping an eye on her, and for her to come here. Which also then makes Surry and the others my problem. My problem to keep safe.
