Page 105 of A Light in the Darkness
I kind of forgot about that, but now that she’s recalled the memory, it strikes me again how random it is. It’s not that I’m opposed to living with her—we have for years, and I can’t imagine a better roommate. But won’t it be weird when things start toget serious between her and whoever she decides to eventually get serious with?
“Yes. I never got to tell you why I bought it.”
“Okay,” I say, not sure why we’re on this topic now. I feel like when I blinked, I fell asleep and missed something. My brain feels like it’s lagging.
“When we flew to Costa Rica last year, Remy asked me what I wanted to do with my degree, and I told him that I had a multi-part plan.”
“Right,” I agree, even though I’m not sure what I’m agreeing with at this point.
“Long story short, there’s one moment in my life where I decided everything I wanted to be and do. And I was a kid, so obviously, my goals have changed. I used to want to own a gallery.”
It takes me a moment to remember what a gallery even is, and I look around the room for the water I left somewhere in here. “Yeah?”
“Yes,” she continues, unbothered by my straying attention as I grab the water bottle and uncap it, taking a long swig. “But I kind of gave up on that, because once you’ve seen a Matisse go for more than your best friend, it kinda ruins it, you know?”
I stare at her, my mouth falling open slowly as her words register. I’m not sure whether I should be offended or amused at her observation.
“Yeah,” I finally say, now curious to see where this is going.
“So, my other initiatives became priority, and I sort of worked them together into some kind of Frankenstein creation. Remy apparently took a page out of my playbook when he opened his humanitarian hotel,” she laughs, glancing fondly at her brother. “So, the last objective was the one I really hoped you’d join me on. Maybe I should have asked before I bought the house, but—”
She shrugs, and I realize she actually isn’t waiting to finish.
“What’s the objective?” I ask, not sure if she hasn’t said it or if I just missed it.
“Saving you. Or, I suppose, saving people from going through what you went through. I always wanted my parents to have more kids, so I could have little brothers and sisters to take care of. Thank God they didn’t, knowing what I know now.” She laughs. “I’ve always liked kids, and I had everything available to me growing up, but it was shit. My parents were awful, had no clue what they were doing. And you had nothing growing up. So, if we combined those things,” she clasps her hands together dramatically, like I’m supposed to understand the direction her brain is headed.
“Shitty parents with everything at your fingertips plus nothing at your fingertipsplusshitty parents, equals?”
“Take the shitty parents out of the equation,” she waves her hand, like she’s literally removing that factor. “Because we won’t be shitty parents.”
Tears prick at the backs of my eyes as she hits on one of the fears that’s been plaguing me. “I really hope not.”
Maybe Rhea doesn’t hear me, or she just doesn’t want to dignify that with a response, but she continues. “The house is for the kids.”
“What kids?”
“Any of them,” she shrugs. “All of them. As many as we can fit, I don’t care. There are thirteen rooms in the main house, and I’ve bought the lot next door so we can build there, too. It’s perfect… I mean, I guess there’s always the danger of living near water, but it’s Florida. We’ll just have to teach the kids to swim. You’re a good swimmer, so that shouldn’t be an issue and—”
“Rhea?” I interrupt her. “What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about an orphanage, but that word is canceled, I think, so let’s call it a care facility for children? It’s a place for kids to go to keep them out of the broken system that you despise. We can raise them like mothers, like family. When they’re old enough to start jobs or their own families, they won’t just get thrown out the way you were with a handshake and a good luck. They’ll stay our family. I have the money to take care of them.”
“That’s ridiculous.” I scoff. “We haven’t even finished college, and you think we can just adopt a bunch of children to raise them as ours? Who would let us do that?”
“The State of Florida, for starters.” Rhea laughs. “We just need to get the right accreditation, but there’s actually a few states where we can do it. If we can grow our network of trusted sources, we could open them up in almost every state. I went with the Miami one first because I know you love to be by the water, and when I heard Austin talk about his family selling it, it just felt right.”
There’s a lull in the conversation as I appraise her, trying to figure out if she’s serious about all of this.
Apparently, yes.
“You sound insane.” I tell her.
Rhea opens her mouth to object, but the voice that fills the air isn’t hers.
“That’s because she is.”
Chapter fifty-eight
