Scars Like Ours | Red View Romance #2

🐈 Nine

Cliff kept his word and stuck around to help Kenzie with the dishes after everyone said their goodbyes. His parents wanted him to stop by their place tomorrow for lunch to do more catching up--a phrase that had Cliff equal measures of elated and scared.

On the one hand, his parents wanted to spend time with him. On the other hand, it was thanks to a lie--and the thing about lying was that once you started, it was hard to stop. What if they had more questions about the night of the crash? Would they ask about the orchestra and how they handled the news of his accident? He'd either have to cover up with more lies, or ruin everything by admitting the truth.

He'd just have to keep the focus of the conversation on them. Their lives would be far more interesting to talk about, anyways. Cliff hadn't seen much more than the inside of his apartment for the past few years and Fritters was the most social interaction he got, other than the stale work-related conversations he had over email with clients.

"I can take care of this," Cliff offered as Kenzie came into the kitchen with the last of the dishes. "You cooked. You're not supposed to clean up afterwards."

Kenzie laughed, joining him at the wide sink. "I don't mind doing it. It helps me wind down."

"Wish it had the same effect on me. I could use some winding down," Cliff admitted, turning on the faucet.

She reached for the dish brush, giving him a smile. "It was a lot at once, wasn't it?"

"Yeah," he breathed out, nodding. "The last time I sat down with this many people was... probably the last Thanksgiving before I left."

"I take it you still keep your circle small."

"Less of a circle and more of a line." He gave the dish soap a good squeeze, and bubbles floated up from the sink. "And you met the only other living creature who stands on it."

Kenzie stopped working and turned to look at him. "Fritters? You've really stayed that much to yourself all this time?"

He shrugged, not missing the pity in her voice. "You know it's never bothered me to be alone." Or at least, it hadn't in his youth, because in the absence of meaningful friendships or romantic relationships he'd had his family to keep him company. It was a lie to say the loneliness hadn't gotten to him over the past couple of years without them by his side.

She shook her head, amused as she started washing the plate in her hands again. "I never did understand it."

They worked in silence for a moment before he continued, "Marshall seems like a good guy. And your friends are nice."

While part of him was introducing the topic with the hopes of learning more about Annie, the sentiment was genuine. Cliff was happy his sister finally found her tribe. While he'd always been content with his solitude, Kenzie grew up as a loner by chance, not by choice. Having companionship was clearly doing her good--she was happier now than he'd ever seen her.

Kenzie snorted out a laugh. "Why is it that my friends are nice, but Marsh only seems like a good guy?"

"Probably because you're not marrying Layla or Annie."

"But Dawson and Layla are pretty serious."

"But Dawson's not my baby sister."

She rolled her eyes, but the reaction disagreed with the way her lips quirked upwards. "I'm supposed to feel sentimental about that, but it's a little insulting. Why do you trust Dawson to pick a good partner, but not me?"

"You're not supposed to feel any way about it, it's just a fact. But I trust both of you to pick good partners. It'd just upset me more if you didn't."

Now she didn't try to hide her smile, head tilting as she looked at him with obvious affection. "Don't tell Dawson that. He'll say you're picking favorites."