Page 23 of Come Back To Me
“Well, I’m here for you whenever you need to talk about it or even do something to not think about it for a while.”
His lips lift higher and he squeezes my hand between his fingers. “So does that mean you’re going costume shopping with me, then?”
I let out a breathy laugh, knocking my shoulder against his. “Yes. I could use some more ghost decorations.”
His face brightens. “Good. We’ll eat and then head out.” He jumps off the counter to scoop food from both pans onto his plate, then we sit at the table to eat and chat some more. Leo goes on about the neighbor almost setting his lawn on fire while lighting too many pumpkins. He’s always so animated when he talks, and it’s like the light in any room he steps into radiates from him.
“So I’ll be using those fake candles from here on out,” he says promptly, and I chuckle, downing the rest of my coffee.
As we finish eating and he helps me tidy the kitchen, I struggle to keep my eyes off the basement door. I have to leave him for a while, and I don’t know how he’s going to respond to it. I hate doing it. But my friend needs me. He’s been here for me and now it’s my turn to return the favor.
Floorboards creak from the stairs below us and luckily Leo is so wrapped up in the story he’s sharing with me that he doesn’t notice. I do, though. My heart jumps with each board Gareth sets his foot on. He’s pacing, growing impatient. He did that whenever I kept him waiting too long before too. Like he said, some things never change. Those things aren’t what have me worried or on high alert, though. It’s the ones that have.
“You listening to me?” Leo snaps a finger between us.
“Yeah. I am. Sorry. I just . . . being here for long periods makes me easily distracted.” His lips turn in and he wraps me in a tight, warm hug.
Drawing out a breath close to my ear, he says, “It’s okay. I don’t think I’d be able to be here at all. Not with all the memories.”
He leans back, eyes cloudy and his soft smile hopeful.
“Yeah. I smell him everywhere. I feel him everywhere.” Not just when he’s in the same room with me but when he isn’t too. He’s with me everywhere I go now, even more than before he was buried underground. I walk out to take the trash to the curb and can immediately feel him pulling me back through the front door.
“Is that what that sour smell is? Because I was thinking that was you needing to catch up on laundry.” His eyes crinkle and I snicker, shoving at his shoulder.
“Funny. But I guess I needed that laugh.”
“Lucky for you, I’ll be here to provide you with more all day long.”
“Yeah, lucky me,” I say snidely.
“Ready to go?” He hits the on button on the dishwasher behind him, looking as spritely as he did when he first got here.
“Sure. Go get the car started and I’ll follow in a bit. Have to take care of one more thing before I leave.”
“I can wait here if you need me to.”
“Nah.” I wave my hand at him. “That won’t be necessary. I won’t be long, I promise.”
“Okay.” He narrows in on me. “You have five minutes.”
I chuckle softly. “Yeah, okay, but the longer you stand here looking at me, the less I’m able to guarantee those five minutes.”
He makes a face. “Fine. I’ll be in the car.” He waves a hand behind him as he treads toward the door. “Remember. Five minutes,” he calls back.
“Six now,” I yell right before the front door shuts after him. Heart feeling lighter from the recent laughs and smiles I’ve shared with my friend, I go to the closet to grab my jacket. Sliding on one side at a time with my eyes on the basement door, a sinking sensation takes over, and I push out a breath as I slowly approach it. I pull it open to Gareth leaning against the stairwell wall with his arms crossed across his chest.
“What took you so long?”
A strong bleach smell hits my nose when I take two steps closer to him. “I had a friend visit.”
“Ah, Leo,” he says with familiarity strong in his voice.
“Yeah. You remember him?”
“Yeah. Well, only that he’s your best friend and we hung around him a lot. The rest is a bit fuzzy, like most things.”
“Yeah, he and Glen used to come over for dinner sometimes, and we’d go out together a lot.”
