He blinks a few times as if I’m speaking in a foreign language. “What the fuck is that?”
“Dad?”
“Come on in.” He opens the door and Merida rushes toward me in her lavender pajama set with cats all over it. “Are you all right?”
I nod before placing my hands over my cheeks, hot with embarrassment. “Just cold, and my bed is all wet.” I look around at the drenched bedsheet.
Was it raining this much when I came to bed?
“You left the window open, what else do you expect?” Keith closes the window latch with more of a jerk than necessary. “The wind hit the lamp.” He points to the broken glass on the floor.
“I’m so sorry,” I mutter, still wrapped around the cocoon of wet blankets.
Stupid, stupid, Clem! He’s so going to throw you out.
Shaking his head in irritation, Keith opens a drawer in the kitchen and takes out a dustpan and brush. My eyes rivet to the gun, which he just tucked in the waistband of his sweatpants, and I pull the blanket closer to my chest. “You have a gun,” I whisper.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of guns,” he snaps at me before throwing the broken glass in the dustbin.
“No. But I didn’t realize it was…unsafe in St. Peppers. I don’t know how to shoot.” My stomach churns as an early memory resurfaces of Tony, our head of security, taking me to a shooting range on Mom’s insistence. Five minutes after being on the range, I cried my eyes out, and had to be brought home.
My reverie is broken by Mere snorting beside me. When I look at her, she mouths a sorry before biting her lip, failing badly at hiding her smile.
“Oscar didn’t tell you about my work?” Keith stands before me, and I notice for the first time he isn’t wearing a T-shirt.
God! How didn’t I see this before?
He cocks his head when I don’t answer immediately.
“Dad works in personal security,” Mere explains.
“Oh, I didn’t know.” I glance back at Keith and meet his hawk gaze fixed on me. Standing under the golden ceiling light, with a gun tucked in the waistband of his sweatpants and shirtless, he looks…hot.
I shake my head. What’s wrong with me? I’m shivering and lusting over my landlord in front of his daughter!
“How will you sleep?” Mere dips her chin at my new, sad, wet mattress.
I cringe at the state of the perfect bed she picked for me. My mother’s voice whispers from the back of my head that this no surprise. It’s me, the most careless, inefficient person, after all.
I shake my head, hating that even after leaving home, leaving Cherrywood, her voice hasn’t abandoned me.
“Would you like to sleep with me tonight?” Mere whispers when I don’t say anything.
But before I can deny her polite and kind offer, Keith grunts, “No. If Clementine wants, she can take the living room couch.”
Even though he said the words, I notice his clenched fists. He specifically mentioned this evening that the living room is not part of the rented space, but low and behold I’m all set to call it my bedroom for tonight.
After I’ve placed a fresh pillow on the couch, Mere hands me the blanket. “Don’t worry, Clem, all the windows in this room are shut.” I glance up at her face, but she’s not teasing me. Her words are said in earnest.
She is such a sweet kid.
“Thanks, Mere.” I lightly press on her hand as she stands beside me. Her cheeks turn pink and she gives me a shy wave before leaving for her room.
“Good night, Clem. Good night, Dad.”
Keith and I stay put at the two ends of the couch, which is all set for me to sleep. I glance from the perfectly laid bed to him with a mixed feeling of embarrassment and gratitude.
As we make no attempt to speak, the room stays mostly quiet, except for the hum of the fridge in the kitchen.