Page 43 of Joker

Smart.

Emma leads us toward the hall off the main floor, the one with the guest rooms and a few of the downstairs bedrooms. Better. Quieter. Away from the main traffic of the common area.

Raven slows a little when we hit the hallway, probably because now that we’ve stopped moving, the exhaustion is catching up with her in real time.

Emma notices too. “You alright?” she asks.

Raven nods too fast. “Yeah.”

Mac snorts softly. “That’s woman code for no.”

Raven blinks at her.

And to my complete surprise, Mac gives her a half-smile and says, “Good news is you don’t have to be alright tonight.”

That one lands. I can see it land.

Raven looks away too quickly after, but not before I catch the way her throat works once like she’s swallowing something she doesn’t want anyone to see.

Emma stops outside one of the guest rooms and opens the door. “This one’s yours.”

Then she points to the next one down. “And that one can be Lexi’s, unless you want her with you.”

Raven looks horrified. “No, she stays with me.”

Emma smiles softly.

Raven’s face flushes just a little, and for some reason I find that absurdly humanizing after everything else.

Mac slips inside first and flips on the lamp. And that’s when I realize exactly which room Emma has stopped us in.

Because the door right next to it?

Mine.

I go still. Not visibly. I’ve had a lot of practice at not visibly reacting to shit that catches me off guard. But internally, the whole thought hits like a dropped wrench.

Right next to mine.

That should not matter. There is no version of this where that should matter. She’s here temporarily. I am not a damn teenager. And yet the second the fact settles, I become far too aware of the wall separating my room from the one Emma is ushering Raven into like it’s already somehow changed shape.

Annoying.

Logan catches the look on my face and, because he’s a bastard who enjoys my suffering more than is probably healthy for a chapter president, one corner of his mouth twitches.

I narrow my eyes at him.

He has the nerve to look innocent. I hate him.

Emma turns back toward me and glances down at Lexi. “You can set her on the bed.”

I step into the room before Raven can protest and carry Lexi over to the mattress, lowering her carefully onto the comforter without waking her all the way. She squirms once, Bunny mashed tighter to her chest, then goes limp again.

Raven moves closer immediately, instinct pulling her straight to the bed like a magnet. She kneels to untie Lexi’s shoes with fingers that look like they’re operating on the last available drop of fuel. Mac sets the duffel near the dresser and starts checking drawers for extra blankets.

Soft landing. That’s what it is. And watching it happen does something complicated and irritating to the inside of my chest.

Because it’s good. Because she needs it. Because Lexi needs it. Because I’m grateful as hell that the women here know exactly how to step in without turning it into some pity parade. And because some part of me already resents that this is all supposed to be temporary enough to end.