Everything about last night was going to stick in Alex’s memory for the rest of her life. At the moment, though, it hadn’t quite yet become a memory. It was still happening. The seconds were running together, sometimes collecting in standout minutes, but she was definitely feeling them all as they happened, right now. She was sure that some things would become clearer with more perspective. When she’d had some sleep and time to process. But the instinct that was keeping her by Seth’s side wasn’t something she’d question when she had the space to think about everything. For better or worse, he was her partner. They were facing things they never could have imagined and she couldn’t predict how the strain was ultimately going to affect them, but loyalty to family was almost notoriously important to the Thornes. As long as she had a choice, she wasn’t going to let Seth face this crisis alone.
His thanks had been unexpected, but appreciated. It felt like a tangible acknowledgement of the unspoken solidarity and understanding that they’d experienced that morning. Alex didn’t exactly blame Seth when he unknowingly exposed her to the rift again, but there was a wistful sadness that settled under her ribcage and stuck.
It was a quiet emotion, though, one that she didn’t think needed to be shared. There was a spark of connection when their eyes met and when he laughed, her smile became sly. Nodding with a laugh at his conclusion, she tilted her head until she bumped the back of her seat. “It must be magic.” There was a lightness to her words that gentled her joke. “Well, at least we have each other.”
Her expression became understanding when Seth responded to her reassurances. “Yeah. It’s a lot.” Abbie had a lot of days she was going to have to get through before she was going to be entirely back on her feet and Alex didn’t necessarily mean physically. Alex wondered if all small towns attracted such complicated dynamics from its citizens. “At least you’re close to her. When Cassie was in the hospital with the twins, it was horrible. The most I could do was yell at people over the phone about things that I probably didn’t know as much about as I thought I did.” Her shrug was self-deprecating.
Reaching over to the stereo, Alex connected her phone to the port and listened as Veronica began playing over the speakers. “Something with pickled jalapenos. And mustard.” Alex’s interest in food had been in a strange flux over the last month. She’d loved the outstanding dinner made by Nadia and the girls the other night, but the week after Seth had told her what he was, there’d been a steep decrease in her appetite. When she was hungry, she craved acidity. If she had to make an educated guess based on a small amount of information, she thought her appetite was influenced by her stress level. The more stressed she was, the pickier she was. She had to stop herself from adding pickles and vinegar. “And pickles and vinegar. With a side of olives. And I guess some kind of meat.”
Alex had always been really bad at impulse control.