Right before I step out of the room, my phone buzzes on my nightstand. I kneel on the bed, leaning over to grab it, but accidentally knock the phone clean off the surface. It lands between the nightstand and the wall with a thud.
“Shit,” I mumble, lying flat on the bed so I can push the nightstand back and reach around behind it.
My fingertips graze something small and round. I grab it along with my phone.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” I blow the dust off the silver ring in my palm and rub my thumb across the green stone. Sea glass, to be exact.
I haven’t seen this ring in ten years.
Right before our high school graduation, I took Penny and Fia to the mall one Saturday. Fia wanted to buy a pretzel with her chore money, and Penny needed a dress for all the graduation parties we were invited to. I didn’t know why she couldn’t wear any in her closet, but there was a very specific one she had in mind.
We were walking around when she saw a ring in a display cabinet at a fancy boutique and came to a dead stop, eyes glued to it. She dragged us into the store, drumming her fingers across the racks of expensive clothing and smiling wistfully, announcing that one day she’d be able to buy anything she wanted from that store. I didn’t doubt her for a minute; Penny worked harder than anyone I knew. She’s the only one out of the three of us who was able to save up and buy a car senior year, for fuck’s sake.
But she kept coming back to admire that ring. I pretended not to notice, but when she and Fia walked out, I quickly stole a peek, committing it to memory.
The next week, I came back to the mall and used all the money I’d made that month to buy it for her.
I slipped it on her finger, telling her it was the first step to her getting everything she ever wanted.
What a stupid thing to promise, but what did I know back then?
The sea glass ring is still stunning, and a piece of my heart warms knowing she didn’t toss it in the trash. If I had to guess, she probably threw it across this room in a blind rage that summer.
After I was gone.
Movement sounds in the hallway, and light footsteps tap down the stairs.
That’s my cue. Maybe the nightisstill on. Maybe I can get her in a good enough mood to bring up Danny and entice her to visit her estranged brother.
I place the ring in the nightstand drawer and wish myself luck.
“Need help with something?” I clear my throat as I walk into the kitchen.
Penny jumps, cracking her head against the cabinet. “Fuck,” she mutters, rubbing her forehead before turning to grace me with a scornful glare.
“You’re freakishly quiet for someone your size. I didn’t even know you were down here.” She turns back around, standing on her tiptoes, reaching for a bottle atop the refrigerator.
Before I can think twice, I step behind her and easily wrap my fingers around the glass neck, my chest brushing her back in the process.
She snatches it from my grip like I burned her.
“Thanks,” she says quickly, ducking under my arm.
I watch silently as she unscrews the top with one hand while moving around the kitchen like she’s on a very important mission. A smirk pulls on my lips, and I lean back against the counter.
Penny grabs a lime, seltzer, and a glass. She approaches me, waving her hand.“Can you please move, you’re blocking the utensil drawer.”
Hey, at least I got apleaseout of her.
“What do you think will happen if you touch me?” I ask, tilting my head.
Her amber eyes snap to mine. “Excuse me?”
I lean down. “You heard me, Penny.” Her lips part, but I don’t allow her time to think up a wise-ass comeback. “With the way you’ve skirted around me the last forty-eight hours, you’d think I’m a dangerous man. You afraid of what will happen if you accidentally touch me?”
Penny’s poker face has gotten better, I’ll give her that. But I notice the subtle things; the way her chest rises rapidly, her eyes searching mine.
I oblige anyway, moving so she can grab a spoon from the drawer. She hip checks it shut.
