She nodded. “Point. But let’s say as the person you are now. What would you do?”
“Everything,” I said immediately. I blinked. “Whoa.”
“Whoa indeed,” she said, lips twitching. “Memories are all well and good. They help to shape us, to make us who we are. We learn from past experiences, and they can also bring us joy in the quiet moments of reflection. But they aren’t everything. Because here you are, as you are. The Robbie I knew would be doing the same thing. You’re not that different from who you used to be.”
“I just want to keep him safe,” I mumbled.
“I know you do. And I don’t know that anyone would do a better job than you. Can I ask you something, Robbie?”
I nodded.
She took the cloth from me and dipped it into the bowl on the nightstand next to the bed. She wrung it out before handing it back to me. I gently pressed it against Kelly’s forehead, and he sighed in his sleep, turning his head toward me.
“What do you see?”
Kelly, Kelly, Kelly. But I didn’t think that’s what she was talking about. “What do you mean?”
“Here. In this room.”
I looked around. I hadn’t noticed when I’d burst in earlier. Aside from the bed and the nightstand, there was a small desk set against one wall underneath a window. The balloons were on top of it. There was a rug on the floor, and a closet with the door cracked open, and I could see clothes hanging inside.
But that was it.
The room was mostly blank. Like mine had been when Mark had shown it to me.
It didn’t look like anyone lived here, especially not someone as bright and vibrant as Kelly.
I looked at Elizabeth, confused. “It’s empty.”
She was pleased, and it was all for me. I wanted to bask in it. “Yes. It is. Do you know why?”
I started to shake my head but stopped. What was it Mark had told me? “We didn’t live here. We lived in the other house.”
She nodded. “You did. You were so proud of yourself that day. It was as if you were both starting out on your own. And in a way, you were, even if it was right next door. You shared the house with some of the Omegas that were staying here with us, at least at first. Ox and Joe, they had been using the house, but they came back here. They knew you needed time to just… be together. I was standing on the porch, watching you two walk hand in hand toward the other house.” Her eyes were watery, but she waved me away when I tried to hand her the box of tissues. “You made it a home. It was warm and inviting, and you were talking about starting traditions of your own. Oh, you were going to include all of us in them, but you thought it was so grown-up, so mature to invite people over for dinner. I might have helped you with that a time or two.”
“I wish I could remember it.”
“I know you do,” she said. “But memories aren’t everything, Robbie. Because here you are, starting again. And I couldn’t be happier that it’s you my son chose. This room, it’s bare because it’s not his true home. His true home was the one he made with you. He’s only here because he couldn’t stand the quiet. A home is a place. But it can also be a person. You’re that person for him. I only wish….” She shook her head.
“What?”
“It’s silly,” she said as she sniffled. “I only wish his father could have been here to see it. To see the man he’s become. To see the men they’ve all become. He would have loved it. He would have loved you, if only for how happy Kelly was and will be again. But I know my husband. You would have been so much more to him.”
I gnawed on my bottom lip. Then, “I have something for you.”
She looked startled. “You do? Oh, Robbie. I don’t need anything. I—”
I shook my head. “It’s not a gift. It’s something that belongs to you. Something that should have been yours a long time ago. I’m only going to return it. Give me a second,
okay? I’ll be right back.”
She nodded, taking the cloth back from me. I left her as she hummed quietly, taking her son’s hand and rubbing her thumb over his palm.
As I descended the stairs, I could hear Rico, Chris, and Tanner bickering in the kitchen. Jessie was in the backyard with Dominique, setting up the table for Sunday Tradition. Mark, Gordo, Joe, and Ox were in the office on the first floor, door open. They looked up as I passed, but I didn’t stop. Carter and the timber wolf stood in the front of the house, Carter telling the wolf that Kelly wasn’t dying and he didn’t even know why the wolf was worried to begin with. The wolf grumbled in response.
I went down to the basement.
Sitting next to the cot was my backpack.