Page 236 of Override

A laugh escapes before I can stop it. "No."

"Darn."

"I need your help."

Rachel's teasing disappears immediately. "What's wrong?"

I glance around the bedroom again. "I hate his bedroom."

Silence. "...Explain."

"It's not because it's ugly."

"Okay..."

"It's because no one lives in it."

I tell her what Keaton said. About the room stopping functioning. About moving into the guest room because it was easier than teaching his brain somewhere new.

Rachel grows quieter with every sentence. When I'm finished, she lets out a slow breath. "Oh..."

"You knew."

"I knew he'd never gone back in there." Her voice softens. Neither of us speaks for a moment.

Then an idea quietly begins taking shape. "What if..."

Rachel laughs. "Oh no."

I grin. "I want to fix it."

"The bedroom?"

"Not just the bedroom." I look around again. "I want it to feel like someone lives here."

Rachel is quiet for all of two seconds. "There's a furniture store about five minutes from the apartment."

"I don't really want to leave."

"Good."

I blink. "What?"

"I said good." She sounds almost proud. "You shouldn't stop living because Ronan is hiding, but you also shouldn't do something you're not comfortable with just to prove a point."

Relief settles through me. "I was hoping you weren't going to tell me I was overreacting."

"Absolutely not." I hear keys jingling on her end of the line. "Here's what we're going to do."

My smile grows. "I'm listening."

"I'm going to video call you."

"Rachel..."

"You'll walk through the showroom."

"I don't know the first thing about furniture."