Vinnie smirks and says, “Shay, you’ll be asleep in an hour. Trust me. Especially if you play your Sam Smith CD.”
“You don’t know that.”
He puts in my Sam Smith CD.
I sleep for the rest of the drive.
THIRTY-TWO
“YOU wanted me to sleep so you could have a peaceful drive, didn’t you?” I ask him as we walk toward the house.
I pull out my key and hand it to him. The real estate agent will be here tomorrow morning, so I have all of tonight to take what I want. Vinnie said he’ll hire people to pack the rest of the stuff, so I don’t have to do it myself. I don’t really need anything from here—other than some clothes and belongings, everything is replaceable. The only thing I do want to take is my mom’s jewelry, something to remember my father by, and our old family photo albums.
“I wanted you to rest because I know that being back at your father’s house is going to be hard for you—both physically and mentally draining,” he says, looking out toward the road, probably waiting for the rumble of Sin’s bike.
“I’ll be fine,” I say gently, wrapping my arm around his waist. “But thank you for looking out for me.”
“That’s what I’m here for,” he says, eyes softening on me before he goes back to paying attention to his surroundings. He’s on alert, I notice, and probably with good reason. It would go without saying that people would be watching this house, and probably have been for a very long time. I look around myself but see nothing. Then again, what do I know? I hear Sin’s bike before I see it. He parks next to Vinnie’s four-wheel drive, dust filling the air.
“It’s so weird being here,” I say to Vinnie, shifting on my feet.
“This is probably the biggest house I’ve ever seen in my life,” he says, arm tightening around me.
So much has changed since I called this house home. Being back here is like stepping into the past, and bringing Vinnie with me is like mixing past, present, and future. Sin walks up to us, removing his leather jacket as he looks around.
“How was the ride?” Vinnie asks, with a tinge of longing in his voice. I know he couldn’t take his bike because we need to bring my stuff back, even though I told him that I could easily drive alone like last time.
“Pretty good,” Sin replies, lifting his chin to the door. “Shall we?”
“Yeah,” Vinnie says, pushing the key into the lock and turning it. The door opens, making a creaky sound. “Stay between us, Shay.”
With Vinnie in front and Sin at the back, I play the meat in a Wind Dragon sandwich, as we enter the house and look around.
“This place is fuckin’ insane,” Sin comments, whistling. “Our clubhouse must be like a shack to you.”
I turn and give him a dirty look, which only makes him grin.
When they decide the place looks safe enough, I head to my room and start to take the things I want. Vinnie carries everything down to the SUV, packing it in the back. I walk into my parents’ room, my fingers trailing along the wall. I remember when I used to hide inside my dad’s walk-in closet as a child, playing with my dolls and trying to jump out and scare him when I could hear him. I remember my mom brushing my hair while I sat on their bed, and telling me that I was her favorite girl. When she died from cancer, it was just my father and me.
I sit on his bed and make a list of everything I want to do, donate his expensive designer clothes and suits, sell the house already furnished so I didn’t have to worry about the furniture. Who knows what could be found in this house though, what things my father tried to hide or keep away from everyone?
“You okay?” Vinnie asks, standing in the doorway in his black V-neck T-shirt and jeans, pulling me out of my thoughts. I check him out from head to toe, admiring him for a moment, before getting off the bed and closing the space between us.
“Yeah,” I tell him. “I’m just making a list of what I want done with everything.”
“Good idea,” he says, placing his hands on my hips. “Do you need any help?”
“No, I’m good,” I tell him. “I’m just going to finish up in my room and then I’ll be done.”
“Okay,” he says, hand on my nape. “You know I’m here if you need anything, but if you want to do it alone, I get it too, all right?”
I nod and place a kiss on his chest, then head to my bedroom.
The quicker I get this over with, the better.