Page 118 of Wicked & Wildflower

“I know.” I nod. “And we should’ve realized it’s not always about what you want; it’s about what you need.” I scoot across the floor until I’m sitting in front of her bed and she has no choice but to look at me. “And you need to come home.” I takeher hand in mine. “You’re not alone this time. I’ll be with you. I’m here to help.”

“What if I can’t? What if I get in the cab, or get to the airport, and I can’t do it?”

“Then we’ll come back here and start again, as many times as you need. But I’m not going home without you.”

She runs her fingers across the flowers tattooed on my hand.

“Plus, it’d be really unfair to leave Leo all alone out there with Mom and Dad. They’re far too suffocating to be one-child kind of parents.”

A soft laugh filters out her mouth, and I breathe easier at the sound of it.

“What about my stuff?”

I smile, feeling hope rise in my chest. “We’ll pack tonight. I’ve got some guys coming by tomorrow morning who will get it shipped home for you.”

“Tomorrow morning? How were you so sure I’d say yes that quickly?”

“Hope, Lele.” I tap her nose, and she swats my hand away, hiding a smile. “You’ll find it again soon too.”

She gives me an eye roll that says she’s unconvinced, but I’m not. We all let ourselves wither away the last few years, but as I’ve rediscovered what it means to live for something, I refuse to allow my sister to have any other outcome. Leo found healing in waves and in Darby. I found it in our businesses, in Dahlia and Lou. Elena needs to find her way back to words. She needs to write again and rediscover the one thing she was put on this earth to be: an author.

She may refuse to search for hope on her own, but Elena has always been stubborn. Sometimes, she just needs someone to push her out of the boxes she places herself in, and I’ve forgotten that I’m uniquely qualified to do just that.

She needs her home. Her family. She needs to fix whatever shit happened between herself and August. Once she finds that hope, I know she’ll be okay.

40

Wildflower

Notes On My Sister’s Car

I stand frozen atthe kitchen window, watching some man I don’t recognize lift my windshield wiper and slide a folded-up piece of paper beneath it.

I don’t know why I don’t chase after him—that’s what my younger self would’ve done. I don’t know why I don’t yell for my sister, who’s sitting ten feet away from me at the dining room table.

I don’t feel fear, I don’t feel alarmed or even surprised, though I should. I was so sure it was Tana and the parents from school fucking with me, but I don’t know who this person is. I’ve never seen him at a function. I’ve never seen him anywhere.

I should feel anxiety crawling up my throat.

I’ve been getting stalked by someone who I now know is a stranger for months. Yet, I can’t seem to find it in myself to care. I’m too numb. There is too much of it—too much to be afraid of,too much to think about. I don’t have the energy to be afraid of this anymore, to even stop it.

“Hey, honeysuckle, have you seen my—” Leo’s words halt as I hear him enter the kitchen. “Dahlia? Are you—” He stops short again as he steps up beside me. “Who is that?”

“I don’t know.” My tone is completely void of emotion.

“What is he doing?” His voice raises, concern edging his words.

“Leaving another note on my windshield.”

Quicker than I can comprehend, Leo’s darting through the dining room and throwing the front door open. “Leave the lights off,” he says as my sister stands from the table, moving to follow him. “Stay inside!”

Darby freezes, head whipping to look at me with fear on her face. “What is going on?”

My eyes are dragged back to the window, where I watch Leo run down the front porch steps. The stranger sees him coming and turns to get away, but he has nothing on my brother-in-law.

It’s completely dark outside. I was only able to catch the guy because I’d been grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen and left the lights off, giving me an illuminated view of the driveway.

My sister stands beside me, gasping as we watch Leo snatch the man by the back of his collar and throw him against the side of my car. He’s pinned between Leo and the door as Leo says something, baring his teeth in the man’s face.

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