Page 4 of Brambles and Bellflowers
“Julian!” a male shouted through the room, startling the receptionist into dropping her phone and pressing her hand to her heart. With the echo, it was impossible to tell whichdirection the sound came from, but then Anthony rounded the corner from where we’d just come. He spotted Julian, and his gait slowed. “There you are.”
Like Julian, Anthony also wore scrubs, although his were black and he wore no shirt under them. While Julian had styled his curly hair neatly, Anthony had covered his entirely with a red bandana.
“Oh. Hi, Bianca,” he added, his posture deflating slightly as he spotted me. “How are you?”
Julian’s hand fell from mine, and I twisted my fingers behind my back nervously. I hadn’t really had any time with the Er Bashou since our adventure with James Cole. “Fine…”
A pregnant pause followed my statement, broken only by Julian pulling me back to his side again. Immediately, my breath evened out, and I couldn’t fathom why I’d been nervous.
“What is it?” Julian asked his brother, redirecting Anthony’s attention from Julian’s hand at my waist.
My pathetic response echoed in my head. How could I not think to ask about his well-being? He must think I was the rudest personever.
Anthony had already moved on, addressing Julian. “Thank you for your help.” He shifted nervously, pulling at the purple band around his wrist. “She’s doing much better now,” he added, voice lower than before.
Julian nodded, his lips thin. “Good, then spend time with her tonight and tomorrow. You’ll have some time. I’ve just been given the early shift.”
The shyness faded from Anthony’s expression, and he straightened. “You got into trouble?”
Julian shrugged. “She’ll get over it. She doesn’t stay angry for very long.”
“Yeah.” Anthony frowned. “Foryou,maybe, but we all know why.”
“That’s not why.” Julian’s hold around me grew tighter. “If you would just talk to her, then maybe—”
“No,” Anthony interrupted, crossing his arms. “It’s not her business.”
I glanced between the two of them, putting the pieces together. “Is that why you’re fighting with your mom?” I asked Julian. “Because Anthony was supposed to be working instead of you?”
I’d always heard that siblings were supposed to cover each other’s backs. What a kind, brotherly thing for Julian to do.
I doubted Bryce would ever do the same for me. He was already overbearing and rude. He would sooner rat me out than lie for me, and then tell me it was for my own good.
Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen him yet today. He had better not be up to something.
Julian glanced at me, his annoyance soothing into a calm mask. Even so, he couldn’t hide the hint of sadness—and something darker I couldn’t quite place—through our connection.
“It’s nothing.” He ruffled my hair, then booped my nose. “Do you want to get something to eat?”
What I wanted was to not be left in the dark. Then again, this did seem to be a family matter. So, really, it was none of my business.
Besides, now Julian had brought up the promise of food. “Okay.”
“Wow,” Anthony said, eyeing me with humor. “Finn really was right.”
Finn was rarely correct about anything. “About what?”
“Never mind,” Julian interrupted, hand at my lower back as he guided me back to the front entrance. “Let’s go. We have to go home. We have things to do today.”
What things? It’d been rather boring lately. Even so, my heart was suddenly racing, desperate for a change in routine—and something else.
He’d saidhome. The word brought up a magnitude of feelings I didn’t quite understand yet.
While Damen had created a bedroom that reflected my personality—minus the naked cherubs on the ceiling—and the boys had been very welcoming, I had to admit that it was hard to feel like I belonged.
But I knew why. I wasn’t an idiot. And it had nothing to do with the fact that the house remained in such disrepair.
No, it didn’t feel likehomebecausethere was a missing piece. Nothing had been the same since Miles’s disappearance.
