Page 60 of Fragile Touch (Fragile 1)
“I guess the distance helped me get over it, but if we’re being honest, seeing you with Cayden after so long without talking to you at all...it’s bringing a bittersweet feeling.”
“Wow.” She laughed in disbelief. “You’re the last person I ever expected to talk about feelings.”
Andrew shrugged.
She was at a total loss as to what to say, but tried to conjure up some words anyway. “Andrew, I wish I knew how to respond to this better than, ‘You’re like a brother to me’.”
“There’s no need to. I’m over it. I just never had the time to think about it, and I definitely never thought I would be sitting here telling you.”
I never expected us to be having this conversation, she thought. Amelia, where are you when I need you?
“Maybe it happened because I knew Amelia was so tight with you, and it was like you were the last tangible piece of her. I don’t know.” Andrew leaned over, his elbows on his knees, and rubbed his face. “I don’t want to think about it, Lillian. I just want to move on and do my life like normal.”
“Then do it.”
“Don’t think I’m being hostile towards Cayden,” he said, looking at her. The bags under his eyes were darkened in the shadow cast by the one lamp behind him. “I don’t think Cayden is a bad person, and I don’t think you two are bad together. I’m glad to see you so happy.”
“Thank you, Andrew.” It sounded lame, but she didn’t know what else to day.
“I’m processing all this. Please bear with me.”
For someone who doesn’t want to think about his feelings, he sure is talking a lot. She sighed and sat up straight. “It must be odd, not hearing from me for so long and then seeing me with someone you’ve never met. I mean, when Amelia was here, you and I knew everything going on in each other’s lives.”
“Not just the two of us; Mom and Dad did, too.”
“I can think of a few things I wish they hadn’t found out back in the day.” She smiled to herself. “I see why this was a bit of a shock, but I’m really glad you’re here. I hope we don’t go years without talking again.”
“Me neither.” He looked lost. She knew exactly where his mind was, and she knew it because she knew him.
“I wish we were mediums. Maybe we could talk to Amelia.”
“Yeah,” he said grinning. “We should hire one.”
“She’d never approve of it,” Lillian giggled. “Remember how she would never even step foot near a horror movie? Especially one about demons or dead things.”
“Any gore was out. Any scary. Any suspense.”
They stopped and looked at each other, suddenly feeling like Amelia was there in the room with them. It was a fleeting sensation, but their memories of her were so similar it calmed their hearts.
“I’m sorry you thought I hated Cayden,” he apologized.
“Don’t worry about it. If I didn’t care about you, I wouldn’t have asked you about it.” Lillian stood and ran a hand down Black Cat’s sleeping body. She checked her watch. This was really bad timing. It wasn’t his fault. Or hers. It just was. “I hate to sound like I’m running from this, but I need to try to get a little sleep before my private poop party.”
“That sounds awful.”
“It’s only not fun for the first couple of hours, then it’s over.” She smiled. “It’s nothing. I’m armed with a good book or three.”
“I’ll head to bed, too, that way I’m not stealing your reading chair when you need it.” He put his book down and stepped towards her. “If I hug you it won’t be weird, will it?”
“It’s only weird if you make it weird.” They embraced, and Lillian thought about how many times they had held each other after getting the call about Amelia’s accident. She had never dared to think of him as anything more than a family member, but now she couldn’t deny something had change
d.
I can’t bring it up again. She supposed the best thing to do was to pretend like they had never talked about it.
“Do your parents know?” she asked, gently pulling away.
“About how I felt? No one knows.”
