Page 28 of Built to Fall
Oh.
Well. That’s interesting.
Not entirely unexpected, though.
She knocks once, then pushes the door open like she’s done it a hundred times before. I follow her through the apartment toward Braxton’s bedroom, where Eden knocks once again.
It’s my first time being in their apartment, but I don’t get a chance to look around or attempt to avoid which room could be Grant’s because I’m focused on Meredith when she opens Braxton’s bedroom door. Her blonde hair is a tangled halo around her head, and Braxton’s hoodie is swallowing her whole. Her expression goes flat the second she sees us.
“Oh, great,” she mutters, rubbing a hand over her face. “The peanut gallery’s here.”
Eden raises her brows. “Ready for breakfast?”
Meredith glances over her shoulder like she’s debating disappearing back into the room. “You couldn’t have texted?”
“You would’ve ignored it.”
She doesn’t deny the fact. “Where’s Kara?”
“New York,” Eden replies. “She had to leave early for a shoot. I don’t think Jack was happy about it.”
“Why?”
“I heard them bickering in the kitchen this morning before she left. It was the usual spiel about if she should be riding the train by herself this early in the morning when she’s barely slept.”
It’s a fair argument, but none of us would ever tell Kara that. She’d rip any rebuttal to shreds with some too-smart comment. Kara Carr doesn’t believe in being protected, only in being right.
From behind Meredith, Braxton appears with tousled blonde hair, warm eyes, and a shirtless torso, holding out her phone and shoes like it’s routine. “Don’t forget these.”
Their fingers brush when she takes them, and for half a second, neither of them moves.
“Thanks,” she murmurs.
He smiles, gentle and familiar. “Anytime.”
It’s not tense, not awkward. Just quiet. Like there’s a whole conversation happening between them that no one else was invited to.
Eden leans in and stage-whispers, “We’re still doing Sal’s. Lina needs eggs and several IVs of coffee.”
Meredith slips out into the hallway and tugs the hoodie tighter around herself. “Let me grab chapstick.”
“Grab some dignity while you’re at it,” Eden jokes.
Meredith flips her off over her shoulder without missing a beat. “Too late. Left it on his floor last night.”
Braxton snorts and disappears back into the room, but not before shooting Meredith one last glance that makes Eden and I exchange a look.
Yeah.Interestingdoesn’t even begin to cover it.
Braxton returns with a sweatshirt and rests his shoulder against the doorframe, eyes following her for a beat before flicking to me. “You good?”
His voice is kind. Surprisingly kind, considering he probably saw Grant dragging me out of the house and into his car last night.
All I do is nod, offering a small smile.
“Thanks for helping with her,” Eden tells Braxton, vaguely motioning toward where Meredith has disappeared down the hall.
Braxton waves me off, a soft smile still lingering. “She’s always welcome here.”
