She was forbidden to him. And always had been. It hadn’t been a problem until recently. And that was why... That was why it had been easier to go. And coming back... She ended up right in his path.
Well. There was one way that he could have this family, and protect her and have her.
They finished eating and Jessie melted away, leaving him at the table with Levi.
“So you’re really going to move back?”
“At least on a part-time basis.”
“It will be good to have you.”
But there was weight to that, even if he and Levi would never really be able to acknowledge it. Levi had lost enough, and their friendship was important. Damien knew that. And right now... Sitting with his own loss, Damien felt like all this mattered more than it ever had.
“You did good,” he said. “With everybody.”
“Almost done,” he said. “Camilla is going off to college, and that’ll be that. Empty nest.”
“Except for Jessie,” he said.
“Yeah. I guess. Though, she’s an adult. I don’t ask for an accounting of her whereabouts. Jessie can do whatever she pleases.”
He regarded his friend closely, not certain if there was something underneath his words or not. “Can she?”
“I mean, within reason. But you know... I realize she went to that masquerade the other night. I realize that she came home and left one shoe sitting in the entryway.” He leaned back in his chair and made his focus level as he regarded Damien. “And I saw the other one down in the cabin you’re staying in.”
“Shit,” Damien said.
“And that response tells me you’re not really confused about how it got there.”
“She didn’t leave it there,” he said. Because that was true.
“How’d it get there?”
“I... I had it.”
“Right. So...”
“Is this the part where you throw me out in the snow?”
“No,” Levi said, rapping his knuckles on the table. “It’s not. Because God knows she’s not a kid. She’s not stupid. And she’s been in love with you since the dawn of time.”
“If you knew that, why didn’t you say anything?”
“Because I figured... I figured you didn’t feel the same. Anyway, it’s not really my ideal scenario. I don’t think my sister should necessarily be with somebody the same age as me who has never once acted like he wanted a commitment. But then I also figure...she’s gotta make her mistakes. And if she chose to be with you... Well. It’s her mistake.”
“Maybe I’m not a mistake.”
“Maybe,” Levi said. “I’m open to that.”
“I don’t really know what to do with this conversation. I was expecting threats of violence.”
“I’m only going to commit acts of violence if you get out of pocket. Like I said. Jessie is twenty-three years old. I don’t have shit to say about who she sleeps with. Never have and never will.”
“Well,” Damien said, the words leaving his mouth before he could think better of them, “that’s because she’d never slept with anybody before.”
His posture straightened slightly, and Damien saw a lick of fire in Levi’s eyes. And he could feel danger.
“Well, that changes the complexity of things slightly.”