Page 57 of Bones
"Oh." He looked relieved, and I narrowed my eyes at him, wondering what he'd been nervous about. "Well, she can take that up with Madame."
I finished my broth and moved on to my bread. I hated this nauseating mental back and forth where one moment I thought maybe they cared and the next I thought they were just following orders.
“Oh I brought you something,” Trey said.
I eyed him with suspicion.
He pulled out a slightly crushed handful of dandelion flowers from his jacket pocket. My breath caught. He laid them on the exam table, and I knew he’d continued talking, but I wasn’t listening. I stared at the small, cheerful yellow flowers, overwhelmed with the flood of emotion sweeping over me.
“Bones?”
I glanced up at Trey, startled when I realized he'd moved closer. He looked at me with concern.
“You ok?”
I nodded, gazing back at the flowers. My heart ached, and I didn’t think before I whispered, “My brother used to bring me these.”
He stayed quiet for longer than I expected, and I then remembered with a lurch of terror that I’d told Madame and everyone else I didn’t have any siblings. My mind raced with how to fix it. Maybe he didn’t remember that.
“Sounds like a good brother,” Trey said.
I looked up at him warily, but he just smiled. I couldn’t tell if he remembered or not, so I just left it. His eyes warmed, and something in my chest cracked like a seed breaking open to take root.
“They’re my favorite,” I confessed before I could think better of it, and his smile widened.
“I’ll keep an eye out for them for you then.”
“You don’t have to do that,” I said, fidgeting with the leaves.
He stepped even closer and nudged my shoulder with his. “I want to.”
I gave him an exasperated look. “Why?”
“Cause you like ’em.”
I scoffed and picked up the little flowers. The fuzzy yellow petals flooded me with memories, Wolf’s teasing smile as he held out the flowers, trying to coax me into forgiving him, Wolf promising he’d be back soon from his hunting trip and that he’d bring me a dandelion.
“You want to go for a walk?” Trey asked, startling me back to the present.
I looked up at him. We stood so close, but it didn’t make me panic. His eyes held mine, so open that it seemed like everything he felt was right there, laid bare like windows to his soul. I couldn’t hold his gaze for long, terrified of what I might see. My rationale that his kindnesshadto be some sort of act was wearing thin.
He still watched me, waiting, and I remembered he'd asked me a question. A walk? This seemed like a question where the answer meant a lot more than just taking a stroll. The panic surged through me like a splash of cold water on my face. I took a few steps away, pretending to straighten the drying tools on the counter.
“I think I’ll just go to bed,” I said without looking at him.
“Ok.” He sounded disappointed and it bothered me more than I liked to admit. “You need any help closing up?”
I shook my head.
“Alright then. I’ll step out so you can change.”
I slipped out of my pants and shirt, pulling on the oversized ragged T-shirt and thin shorts I slept in. I climbed into bed and then sat there, unsure if I should call out and tell him he could come back in or not.
Before I could decide, he knocked and called, “You good?”
“Yep.”
He came back in and gave me a slight smile before retreating to his own mattress, kicking off his boots, and taking off his shirt. I tried to pretend I didn’t notice his strong arms, the golden brown of his skin from the sun, and the way the lean muscles in his stomach formed a V that disappeared into his pants. My heart beat faster, ignoring me as I tried to calm it down. Trey turned toward me, and I barely remembered to stop staring before he caught me.
