Page 130 of Rapunzel Is Losing It

“You didn’t have to come pick us up,” I said.

“Of course we did.” She rolled her eyes at me while smoothing out the fluffy blanket she had thrown over mine and Victor’s laps as if the sun wasn’t cooking the car. “I’m not letting you take a cab.”

The sentence hung in the air for a moment. It contained so much. I couldn’t drive. Victor’s sight had gotten slightly better the last few days but the doctors had still called it legally blind, unable to drive. Luka and Irina were gone to pick up the pieces of their family. Our only alternative would have been a cab.

“Thank you,” I finally said.

“Okay, you get this, and you get this.” Del pulled a large plastic bag from the passenger seat and handed Victor a pack of mint chocolates and me a rocky road chocolate bar. “Next up, I have mango-pineapple, wild berries, or ginger-carrots.” She produced a handful of smoothie bottles.

“I’ll take mango,” I said.

“I’m good,” Victor grumbled, clearly not used to being the doted on in the backseat.

Del made a disappointed little sound, which prompted Beck to twist around and glare at Victor. I wasn’t sure if Victor could quite tell the sour expression he’d caused. “Pick a fucking smoothie, Yelchin.”

“Ginger,” Victor said and opened his palm.

Del beamed when she handed over the bottle and I couldn’t help smiling right along with her. This was going to be our life now. We got to be with our friends, and bicker over smoothie bottles, and eat chocolate.

The second we took off, I closed my eyes and I leaned into Victor’s shoulder. He pressed a kiss to the top of my head and ran his hand along my arm until he found mine to squeeze. “Almost home, zhizn’ moya.”

“Before we get there, I should tell you that the chairs by your office window will need replacement,” Del said, “because I was trying to get Fitzwilliam into his carrier and take him to Beck’s. He literally clawed himself away from me and almost took down the curtains too.”

“Oh, he must have been so confused. Is he okay now? Does he like his new home?”

“Sorry, that wasn’t clear. I tried and failed,” Del said, “I don’t think he’ll leave willingly.”

“We can ask his vet about sleep meds. That should make it easy to put him in the box. Or maybe we can get him a different box, because he might just associate that one with the previoustimes he was taken from a home he’d gotten used to.” I was on my phone and looking up pet carriers in an instant.

“What if he stayed?”

“With us?”

“Yes,” Del smiled over her shoulder at me, “if you’ll have him.”

“Of course,” Victor said before I could. I silently raised my brows at him, only to remember that he could no longer easily read my expressions. But when I opened my mouth to speak, he said, “You love that cat. I’ll live with the scratches.”

“And you won’t miss him?”

“Of course I’ll miss him, but I’ll come visit all the time. And this means we can get Brody the fluffy curly guinea pigs she’s been asking for.”

“Brody’s not getting a pet,” Beck interjected.

“Oh, come on. No little kid keeps a hamster alive. Sad but true. You can’t fault her for that.”

“Plenty of children are responsible and keep their pets happy and healthy. You showed me those videos of the little boy and the octopus he built a whole tank for.”

“Yeah, and the octopus died, smart-ass.” Del poked her tongue out at him. “Besides, she’s sixteen. She can handle guinea pigs.”

I let my eyes fall shut again and leaned into Victor.

Brody wanted guinea pigs. So simple. So sweet. Despite everything her father had put us through, she was still living the kind of life that made a girl want to adopt fluffy curly guinea pigs.

The thought had me smiling against Victor’s shoulder, but I was too tired to partake in the conversation. For the first time, the exhaustion of the last few days seemed to take root in my bones. I wanted to sleep. Not just nap. Curl up in my bed, pull the blanket up, and sleep for a few days.

I blinked and I was in Victor’s arms and we were halfway up the stairs.

“Don’t trip,” I mumbled and buried my face in the crook of his neck.

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