Page 57 of The Sharpest Edges

The cat greets him when he enters the kitchen, uncurling from his spot on the island to crawl up onto Dean’s shoulder like a parrot, perching there while soaking up the attention. “This a new thing? This shoulder sittin’?”

She shrugs, amused at the sight of him and Panda.

“Getting big, ain’t ya, buddy? Little fat, got a pooch on your belly. Your momma been feeding you them treats, hasn’t she?”

He hears a harsh gasp from across the kitchen where Ava fixes their coffees and spots a fair mixture of entertainment and horror cross her face.

“He is not fat! He just likes food, that’s all. I can’t say no to him. Look at how cute he is.”

There’s a jar of cat treats on the counter next to her that looks suspiciously less full and he huffs. “Uh-huh. Keep going like that and he’ll be a potato.”

“Careful there, or I’ll take my cat parrot back.”

He holds his hands up in mock surrender, nudging the little cat off his shoulder so he can reach for the cup she’s handing him with a purse of her lips.

He has every intention of simply chatting with her about random things, whatever topic she prefers but somehow he may have let it slip no less than five minutes in that he’s being evicted from his house in less than two months and is forced to house hunt sooner rather than later. He underestimated how nice it is to have someone to talk to about the bullshit that pops up in his life. He’s so used to dealing with everything on his own that the idea of sharing with her is too tempting to refuse.

It’s a burden, though, and he regrets saddling her with his problems the moment he says it.

She blinks with a confused scowl. “That doesn’t seem fair. Can they do that? Just kick you out?”

“Yup. House ain’t mine so when the bank takes it back because my landlord is a fuckwit they can do whatever they want. Gonna start looking next week, see if I can find another house in this area.”

She’s pensive, but then there’s excitement in her face that he’s not sure what to do with. “Maybe I could help you look?It could be fun. I mean, I know none of this is fun, not really, especially not how it’s happening because they shouldn’t be kicking you out, but if you want some company on your house tours, I’m game.”

“Okay.” He agrees before he can overthink it.

He wonders if she’s the type to watch those shows on the home channel in between Stranger Things episodes. The ones where people buy houses and fix them up. The type of shit he always clicked right past, but now he smiles at the idea of her enjoying it.

“Don’t worry, I won’t try to sway you on anything weird. No shipping containers or yurts, I promise,” she teases, edging a little closer around the curve of the island and leaning her lower back into it, facing him.

“It’s alright.” He palms her hip, running his thumb into the dip of her waist by the bone. “I trust you.”

She beams at his words, her hand covering his where it rests, her eyes soft when she leans down to suck lightly on his bottom lip, making his skin tingle. Then she pulls back, her tone shifting into semi-sarcastic territory. “You know it’s kinda funny that you got evicted and I got fired on the same day.”

“Wait what?”

“Yeah. They don’t have proof anything happened on the prison grounds between us but I had a meeting this morning and it’s been quietly suggested to me that I may be better suited to employment elsewhere.”

An alarm sounds in Dean’s head. One of his worst fears about what they’ve been doing is becoming reality and guilt already threatens to overtake him. “I’m so fucking sorry.”

Ava lifts her shoulders and then slumpsthem in defeat. “I’m not. You asked me once why I work there and I told you it was because I needed something fast and that was true, but it wasn’t the whole truth.”

“What’s the whole truth?”

“It’s a form of self-torture, I think. No one else will punish me for what happened to Charlotte, for not protecting her, but I can punish myself by enduring that place. Doing my own time.”

He squints, confused. “The accident wasn’t your fault.”

“No, but if I left with her sooner, if I was brave enough to escape him she would still be here. But I stayed. I know it might not make logical sense, but that’s how Ifeel.” There is a detached tone in her words, in the way she crosses her arms over her middle and stares at everything but him. “Maybe it’s better than I’m forced to leave because I dunno if I ever would have on my own.”

Dean can’t deny that he’s relieved to know she isn’t at the prison every day, risking her safety among the inmates. He’d never ask her to quit, but there is a selfish part of him that has considered it a few times, knowing the request would never leave his lips. He didn’t want their relationship to be the reason she got fired but he didn’t like knowing she was in danger every shift, either.

“I ain’t gonna lie and say that I’m not glad you won’t be in that place anymore, but I’m still sorry it was me that got you in trouble.”

“I don’t regret anything we did.” She cups his cheek, forcing him to look at her. “That job or you? I’ll pick you every time. It’s more than a fair trade.”

No one has ever chosen him, not like this. He has never been anything to anyone, certainly not a first pick or a prize, anddefinitely not worth losing a job over, but she is telling him that he is and a thread of hope grabs hold of her words and allows him to believe it.

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