Page 83 of Vandal Unbound
Knox lets go of Cristian’s ear. “You just got a whole lot more valuable.”
It’s nearly ten o’clock by the time I get back to the apartment because we decided to keep Cristian as collateral. Knox is just trying to figure out how to get the biggest buck for him.
Havoc is running Cristian’s phone for now.
My truck battery was flat after sitting in the lot for so long, so we load up Daisy and Elsie’s things into his truck to ride home. Then I get in the car with Daisy and Elsie and follow him.
Elsie’s head bobs as she sleeps in the back.
When we park up, she stirs and mumbles. I get out of the car, then extract Elsie. She flops against me as I hook her on my hip.
When she sees Elsie in my arms, Daisy smiles softly.
“Let’s get you both inside, then I’ll come out for the bags,” I say, before taking Daisy’s hand to walk her to the door.
“So, this is your home,” Daisy says.
“Yeah. It’s gonna be a bit of a mess and not much of a home. But we can figure out how to fix it so you two are comfortable tonight.”
Daisy grips my fingers. “I’m sure it will be fine. And we’ll be together.”
“Did you guys eat?” I ask.
Daisy nods. “Just some pasta and meatballs. I made you a serving. It’s in the back of the truck.”
As if on cue, my stomach rumbles. “Thank you.”
I open the door and let Daisy walk in ahead of me. But when I first step inside, I feel like an intruder in my own space. Flicking on the entrance hall lights makes a difference. I fell in love with this place when I bought it, and yet I ran out of steam fixing it up somewhere along the way. Stepping back inside reminds me of the potential I could once see in it.
It’s a single story, but with tall ceilings, which are a bit unusual for this neighborhood. It’s pretty open plan, with space for a dining table I never bought to my left, beyond that a contemporary bright kitchen. The living room is a large rectangle, but I’d started to sketch out a large media unit for my TV and electronics with a false back for all the cables to drop behind and never completed it. As it is, the TV is currently sittingon a low wood stand overflowing with gadgets and surrounded by cables.
Maybe it’s something I could lose myself in, trying to fix it up like I envisioned the day I bought it for the family I’m building. There are three bedrooms, although one of them isn’t much. I thought about turning it into a closet before I realized it’s not like I have that many clothes.
“Shit. I don’t have a spare bed. Just a king in my room. You and Elsie can sleep in there, and I’ll just crash on the floor or the sofa.”
Daisy shakes her head. “If it’s a king, we’ll all fit. If that’s okay with you.”
Once, I would have thought it wasn’t, but somehow it makes sense. “I’d like to keep us all together too.”
I lead them to my room, lay Elsie down on the bed, and show Daisy where everything is. The house needs dusting, vacuuming, and a lethal amount of disinfectant in the bathroom. But the bedding is clean, and there are new navy towels hanging on the wall. Thick and plush. And I think about those hand towel–size sheets hanging on Daisy’s rail.
“Could I get a glass of water next to the bed? She sometimes wakes up thirsty.”
As Elsie dozes, I brush my lips over Daisy’s. “I can do that.”
“I’m sorry this isn’t the reunion I suggested.”
You think when we’ve gotten home, and calmed down, and maybe eaten something other than pie, and slept, we can have a do-over on this reunion?
I look at Elsie sleeping safe and sound. And I also have Daisy under my roof. There’s a warmth in my chest I can’t put words to. I pull Daisy to me and kiss her forehead. “Maybe it’s something better.”
25
DAISY
“Your home is beautiful,” I say as Vandal brings in the last of the bags after waving goodbye to Havoc who lives a few houses away.
The single-story house is raised on stilts to prevent flooding. The homes in his neighborhood all seem to run along the water, but it’s hard to be sure in the dark. Vandal’s is right at the very end, so it has the advantage of having no neighbors on one side at all. Just thick trees.
