Page 64 of Losing the Rhythm

Seth scowled down at the ground before finally nodding. “Fine.”

“I won’t drop her.”

“I know.”

“Then trust me with her.”

“I do.”

“Your expression says otherwise,” I pointed out in a soft voice, glancing at Cadence. She still slept on.

“My expression doesn’t say anything in particular.”

“Sure it doesn’t,” I said sarcastically. “It definitely doesn’t say that you think you should be the one carrying her in.”

“Are we really arguing over this?”

“I want to take care of her too,” I said in an even softer voice. “I won’t drop her.”

Seth grumbled something but backed off. He already told us he cared for her, and I knew it was something that was growing more and more every time I saw him. She had his heart, even if no one was willing to admit how deeply it went.

I wish I was like him, able to be so open about what I thought. Even if I wasn’t so sure myself. All I knew was that I was hyper aware of Cadence, of her moods. When she was near, I could always tell when she wasn’t paying attention, which was more often than I’d like. It felt like we were losing her.

What was I supposed to do to help her?

I didn’t know. All I knew was that right now, I could at least carry her inside so she could keep sleeping comfortably.

I carefully opened the door and when it looked like she wasn’t going to topple over, opened it all the way. I worked slowly and carefully as I unbuckled her seatbelt and then lifted her up.

For a moment, I stared down at her in my arms. She was my age, but she was light and fit oddly well in my arms. She only moved a little, resting her head against my shoulder, before her breathing deepened and she kept softly snoring.

I tightened my grip and slowly walked into the house, waiting for Seth to open the door for me. He stayed by my side, practically glued as he kept his eyes on Cadence. After I got her on the bed, making sure to take her shoes off so she could sleep comfortably, I went back into the hallway, needing to drag Seth along with me.

“Dude,” he said. “What did you do to get her to pass out like that? She’s practically dead to the world.”

“We went for a drive, and I brought her to a place I like to relax,” I said.

“That was it?”

I shrugged. “I created an environment where she didn’t have to worry about anything. She didn’t have to worry about acting a certain way, or think about what was going on around her, or what needed to be done.”

“Shit.” Seth ran his hand over his head and looked back at the door. “We need to get her more days like that.”

“Yeah.” I nudged him downstairs. I didn’t speak again until we were in his kitchen. “How are you doing?”

Seth liked to be busy. He didn’t know how to be idle and since he broke his ribs, it had been rough for him. He wanted to do more than he was allowed to do—like carrying Cadence.

“I’m fine,” he said, digging through his fridge.

“Seth, it’s me. I know you like to hold on to that big brother role a little too tightly, but seriously. Maybe Cadence isn’t the only one who needs a friendate.”

Seth finally closed the door and faced me with a frown. “Tired. Annoyed. Sad. Worried. I don’t know. I feel a lot of things lately. I’m thinking I’m going to go talk to my aunt. She’s been calling a lot since she learned I’d been hurt. Probably be good to go see her. She’s been asking the last couple of weeks for me to stop by.”

“Then why haven’t you?”

Seth didn’t have to voice his answer as he looked toward the doorway.

Cadence.

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