“That wasn’t problem solving mode,” Ashley said, a small smile on her face.
“You’re right,” Theo agreed. “That was scolding.” She went back to Ashley’s sock drawer and rummaged around until she found a pair of large, fuzzy, purple socks that looked like they would stretch over the casts on Ashley’s feet.
“You can’t just leave,” Wyatt said. “We need to talk about this.”
“Let’s go find Ashley’s coat, Indie,” Theo said, taking the child’s hand and pulling her toward the door. Jupiter whined and Theo looked back. He hadn’t moved. “It’s okay, Jupe,” she told him. “You can stay.”
They weren’t out of the room yet when Ashley lit into Wyatt.
“Do you know how embarrassed I am? I wet the goddamn bed! And you couldn’t even answer my phone calls. What, you don’t get breaks during the day? What about lunch? Do you get one of those? You couldn’t call me back?”
“Have you found it?” she asked Indigo, hoping to distract the child.
“Not yet.”
Theo heard the deeper timbre of Wyatt’s voice, but she’d moved away from the hallway and couldn’t hear everything he was saying.
“… stay here? I can’t take time off work … gonna be gone for a few hours tonight …”
Theo found Ashley’s parka in the closet. Stuffed inside the pockets were a pair of gloves.
“… that’s why … you care about your gaming buddies … stuck in this stupid wheelchair …”
“Here it is,” Theo announced, turning to her niece. She gave the little girl a smile. “You ready to go?”
The child was standing by the front door, but she was facing the middle of the room. Her eyes were wide as Ashley and Wyatt continued to argue in the bedroom. She turned her head and looked at Theo. “Yep.”
When Theo walked back into the bedroom, Wyatt looked angry. Jupiter was no longer sitting next to the wheelchair. He’d moved to stand between Ashley and Wyatt.
“It’s up to you, Ash,” Theo told her. “What do you want to do?”
Ashley was staring up at Wyatt. Her cheeks looked flushed and her unbrushed hair looked wild around her head.
“I’d like to come stay with you if that’s still okay.”
“Here’s your coat,” Theo said without hesitation. Ashley pushed her good arm into the sleeve and Theo draped the coat around her shoulders.
“This is fucking ridiculous,” Wyatt said. Theo turned, happy to see that Indigo had remained near the door.
“It really is,” Ashley agreed. She stuffed her phone and the charger into her coat pocket. “I know you’ve got plans later. Helping me out to the Jeep shouldn’t take more than a few minutes. I won’t get in the way of any of that.”
“Oh, for fuck’s sake … You’re impossible, do you know that? Even if we did talk, you wouldn’t listen. You never listen—"
“It’s time for us to go,” Theo interrupted.
Wyatt heaved an angry sigh, then stepped behind Ashley and took hold of her wheelchair. He pushed her much more aggressively than he needed to. When they got to the front door, Theo opened it and Indigo scurried to get out of the house. Theo used her remote to unlock the Jeep and watched her niece navigate the snow that came up to her waist in places.
“Jupe!”
She stepped outside and plucked Indigo out of the snow, carrying her the rest of the way to the curb.
“That’s deep,” Indigo said, her voice sounding surprised.
“It really is,” Theo agreed with her. She opened the door and Indigo climbed in. Then she walked around, opening the back. Jupiter watched as Wyatt carried Ashley. He wasn’t interested in leaving her behind.
“She’s coming,” Theo reassured the dog. “It’s okay. Hop in.”
“Boof!”
“That’s right, Jupe,” Theo nodded. “Come on.”
Theo couldn’t help but notice how uncomfortable both Ashley and Wyatt looked. Ashley was average in both height and weight. Wyatt worked construction. His muscular build was obvious even though he was wearing a winter coat. It wasn’t difficult for him, carrying his girlfriend. His strain wasn’t physical, it was emotional.
Ashley had tears streaming down her face, and Theo thought it was panic she saw in the young woman’s eyes. They needed to get away from this house.
Quickly, Theo ran back up, hopping through the snow like a deer. She folded the wheelchair and retraced her steps. She slipped the chair next to Jupiter and gave him a quick hug.
“Thank you, Jupe,” she told the dog. “You’re the best boy ever.”
Theo heard Wyatt close the passenger door. She made sure Indigo’s straps were straight and fastened correctly, then she slipped behind the wheel. She looked through Ashley’s window and saw that Wyatt was halfway to the house again. Ashley had her eyes closed, and she was deep breathing.
“You okay?”
“I don’t know,” Ashley told her. “It’s not like that’s the first time Wyatt’s been pissed at me. He’s yelled at me before. God knows, I always yell right back … but it felt different that time. He picked me up, and I could feel how angry he was, and I just started to panic …”
“You’ve been through a lot, Ashley.”
“But Wyatt’s never hurt me … not physically. Not ever.”
