Page 123 of Wicked & Wildflower

“Why?” he calls from behind me.

I turn around. “We’ve got to tell him she’s back. He needs the heads up.”

My brother sighs, taking one last hit before snuffing it out and placing it in his pocket. We finish the rest of the walk in silence, arriving at the two-story, craftsman-style home. I walk up the front porch steps with my brother on my heels, knocking lightly on the olive green door.

A minute goes by with no answer, but I can see a dim light on from the window next to the door, which I know to be the living room. Leo walks right up to the window, cupping his hands around his mouth and shouting, “Auggie! Let’s open up, brother.”

“Shut the fuck up,” I hiss. “He’s got neighbors and shit.”

My brother shoots me a dopey, stoned smile.

Finally, the door creaks open, and two green eyes assess us from the other side behind a pair of black-rimmed glasses. “What the hell is going on?” he whispers aggressively.

“We came to say hi,” Leo says.

“I want a tattoo,” I add, deciding suddenly.

“Are you guys drunk?”

“No, we’re high.” Leo chuckles.

August rolls his eyes, opening the door wider to allow us in. We follow him into the sunroom off the side of the house—the house his brother bought but never had the chance to move into before he died. Zach always planned on having August be his roommate, and after his death, he couldn’t sell it, not when it was a home Zach loved so much and had been so excited to spend his life in. August has been here on his own ever since.

He utilizes the sunroom as an art studio, where a table sits in the corner with sketchbooks scrawled across it. In the other corner, he has a make-shift tattoo set-up, which rarely gets used now that he has his own shop.

“Why am I tattooing you in the middle of the night on a Thursday?” he asks, sorting through his equipment as I fall back into the leather chair.

Leo sprawls out next to us on the couch at the center of the room. He looks at me and raises a brow, as if to say:this is all you.

“Let me walk you through the design first, and we can talk while you’re working.”

August gives me a bemused expression, but he only shrugs before going back to the box he’s sorting through. He pulls out his sketchbook, and I walk him through my idea. It’s something I’ve had in the back of my mind for a while, but something about this night and all the chaos in my life has me wanting to pull the trigger on the idea.

I give him my vision, watching him effortlessly draw up a design far beyond anything I was capable of imagining in my head. After I approve the artwork, August sanitizes the spot on my chest where I want the tattoo, and I take a deep breath asthe gun buzzes to life, dull burn and razor-sharp sting blasting through me.

I’ve gotten enough tattoos that I don’t react much anymore, but that first prick is always a jolt. As I settle into the discomfort, August is focused on my skin, but he clears his throat expectantly.

“Well, I guess I’ll just rip off the band-aid,” I grit out. “Elena’s home, and we thought you should know.”

August freezes, body tensing for just a fraction of a second. I swear, I see a shiver roll down his spine, but whatever reaction he’s having inside, he hides it quickly. I watch him swallow before he casually asks, “How long is she visiting?”

“She’s not visiting. She’shome.” There is finality in my tone, because like the conversation I had with my sister, I’m making it clear it’s not temporary. She tried her hand in New York, and it did nothing for her. She’s home for good, at least until she’s healed enough to become a functioning human being again.

I booked her flight for her, and I made damn sure there was no return ticket.

“Oh,” he says quietly. “Well…good. I’m glad.”

“Are you?” I ask.

He stops, eyes raising to meet mine. “Of course I am.”

“You two don’t speak.”

“Her choice. Not mine.”

The tone in his voice seems to end the conversation there, and I glance at my brother, who watches us from his spot across the room. He shrugs at me, and I do the same back. It’s clear whatever happened between the two of them is locked up tight, because when I brought the situation up to Elena, she shut it down the same way.

I guess we’ll have to leave it up to them to resolve it on their own.

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