Page 63 of Wicked & Wildflower

Let me know if you need help with that cream pie.

I’m great with filling. ??

Another laugh echoes through the house, and I know I’m smiling at my own phone like a goddamn idiot.

“What are you two doing?” Darby asks me.

Now I’m the one blushing.

The sound of knuckles clamor at the door, and all seven people in this house shout, “Come in!” at the exact same time. My parents, Dahlia, and Lou are too busy in the kitchen to answer it, Leo, Darby, and myself too comfortable on the couch to move.

I hear the door open and close before August’s frame rounds the staircase into view. He stands awkwardly at the edge of the living room and waves at us. “Hey. Happy Thanksgiving.”

Tall and lean, his dark, unruly curls are tousled messily on his head, green eyes darting around the room beneath his black-rimmed glasses. He’s got an eyebrow piercing he didn’t have the last time I saw him, and two more piercings on each of his ears. Unnoticeable beneath his long-sleeved tee and dark-wash jeans, I know his body is covered in more tattoos than even mine.

I open my mouth to greet him when the pressure next to me on the couch suddenly lifts, a flash of blonde hair darting past me. I catch the surprise filter across August’s face too when Darby suddenly leaps into his chest and throws her arms around his neck. “I’m so happy you came,” she murmurs.

He stills momentarily before slowly wrapping both arms around her waist. His eyes close as he lets out a sigh, the kind that tells me it might’ve been a long, long while since he has been hugged by someone.

August’s been an irreparably broken shell since the moment they pulled his brother’s body from the beach a little over three years ago. He shut out everyone, including me and Leo. We tried for the solid first year after Zach’s death to be there for August, but he refused to answer our calls. He’d ignore us when we showed up at his house, his business. He wanted no part of the foundation set up in his brother’s name—not that his father would’ve allowed it, anyway.

He wouldn’t even talk to my mother, and that bothered me most of all.

Leo and I look at each other, and I know the same thought is running through his head.Maybe we didn’t do enough.Because the way he hugs Darby tells me he’s starved for connection.

Leo clears his throat, standing from the couch and walking over to them. It’s a little awkward, the way he and August wrap their arms around each other. “Hey, Augustus. It’s good to see you.”

“Yeah.” August sighs. “You too.”

I stand too, but as I cross the living room, I notice Lou peeking her head around the kitchen door, taking in the sight of the new visitor she hasn’t met yet. I smile, reaching out my hand. “Hey, Luz.”

Her green eyes go wide as she turns to me. “Hi.”

“Do you want to come meet my friend?”

“Your friend?” she murmurs.

“Yep. Since I was as old as you are.” I beckon her with my outstretched hand. “C’mon.”

I remember her hesitation the day she met me. I remember Leo telling me she was the same way when she met him too, and our dad. She’s not comfortable around men, for understandable reasons. I don’t know what kind of feeling it is that erupts inside me when she rushes around the corner and takes my hand, but something inside my bones feels settled.

She feels safe with me.

Keeping Lou’s tiny hand in mine, I give August a one-armed side hug before stepping back to give the girl at my side space. “Lou, this is our friend, August. August, this is Lucille, Dahlia’s daughter.”

August gives her a genuine smile, holding out his hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Lucille.”

She keeps her fingers tight in my palm but extends her other arm and returns his shake. “You too,” she whispers. “You can call me Lou.”

He grins, his own emerald eyes showing the most emotion I’ve seen in years. “Okay, Lou. Happy Thanksgiving.”

Lou returns his with a shy smile, hiding her face against my side. It’s less nervous, almost more…bashful.

“Lucille?” Dahlia calls out. I hear her voice grow louder, and even though I’m not facing the doorway to the kitchen, I suddenly feel her presence there.

I feel her pause as she takes in the scene. Leo has his arm slung around Darby where they stand next to August, and I watch Darby’s eyes lock on something behind me, a knowing smile rises on her face.

Lou, still glued to my side, turns her head back toward her mother. “Hi, Mom.”

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