I didn’t think so, but said nothing anyway.
“And what I told you about my brother.” She bit her lip, glancing back up at me. “Do you mind never talking about that with anyone? Besides you and Stevie, you're the only person outside of my family who knows.”
“You never told anyone else?” I wanted her to say she never told him.
She nodded. “It’s not something you can bring up in casual conversation.”
“I won't say a word. Thank you for telling me. I’m still not a hundred percent okay, but I’m going to try my best to support Logan. I guess part of me is annoyed because I can’t help him in any way. He has to do it on his own, and I have to let him. It’s a first for me.”
“He’s doing well already,” she said, taking her phone off the bedside table. “He already has a lot of followers on social media, and his song was in the iTunes top one hundred.”
“What?” I took the phone from her, and sure enough, there was Logan onstage at some concert. “When did he do all of this?”
“I don’t know. I remember Sebastian talking about his music career once, but I never followed it closely. I googled him after he left; as you can see, I’m a little nosy.”
“I had no idea he was already doing this,” I said, more to myself, scrolling up and down all the messages he had from fans, people he didn’t even know who supported him more than I did. Sighing, I gave her back the phone, resting against my pillows.
She took the tray off the bed and put it on the ground beside her. Wrapping her arm around me, she rested her head on my chest.
“I only wanted to make sure he was okay. When our father died, Logan was so little. I felt bad because I had all these memories, and he didn’t, so I’ve always tried to do what my father did for me: set a good example, make sure he was doing everything he was supposed to, going to all his games. I didn’t realize I was suffocating him.” It hurt to think about.
“You weren’t,” she said softly as my hands rubbed up and down her side. “I’m sure he’s happy he has all those memories, and besides you wanting him to be a doctor, he wouldn’t change anything.”
“I knew he liked music, but I never thought it could be his career. It’s just—”
“His life now depends on whether or not other people like what he does.” She looked up at me. “That’s the difference between your career and ours. Yours is by education and training. In many ways, it is in your own hands. But, like you said, for us, it all rides on whether or not we are popular. We can go to school and train too, but if, at the end of the day, no one buys anything… It was scary at first for me, but when you do make it, and you give someone a painting, and he looks at you like you created a miracle…it’s worth the risk.”
There was silence between us for a while and I remembered her painting. How it was a miracle. There were no family photos of us all together, and with her hands, she had created one on her own.
A smile spread across my face when I heard her soft snore.
Rolling her over onto her back, she then shifted onto her side, facing me.
Behind her, I saw the time and realized we had talked for another hour. She was just so easy to listen to and speak with.
“What are you doing to me, Guinevere?” I kissed her head, feeling myself drifting. I was pretty sure I was going to dream of her; she was slowly taking up a bigger part of my life.
Chapter Sixteen
Troublemakers
Eli
I held Taigi’s leash as we walked back to the apartment. Guinevere had to rush to meet a paint supplier since we’d both overslept, so I offered to take Taigi out. I could only get in a thirty-minute run, but I wasn’t bothered; I felt more than worked out, anyway. Before we could turn the corner, Taigi stopped, sitting his gray ass on the sidewalk.
“Come on,” I said, tugging on his leash.
When he got up, he tried to walk in the other direction.
Kneeling in front of him, I scratched behind his ear. “We can go for a good run tomorrow, but I've got to go to work.”
He barked, trying to walk back again.
“Taigi,” I said like I was talking to a naughty child.
He whined, but followed me.
The moment I turned the corner, I wished I had listened to him.
He hunched over, looking almost like a wolf, and growled at the man standing right in front of our building, holding a bouquet of red and white poppies. The fact that I knew what they were proved I had gone flower shopping with my mother one too many times. When we reached the man, Taigi's growls grew louder.
“Taigi?” Sebastian turned, looking down at the dog.
Taigi barked, baring his teeth at him.
Good boy, I thought, tempted to “accidentally” loosen my grip on his leash.
“Eli—”
“To you, it’s Dr. Davenport, and why the hell are you standing in front my building? Would you like for me to actually bust your face in? Hannah isn’t here to threaten me with the cops.”