what was i made for, walker

004. duke

"You got a lot of stuff packed in here." Liam comments, the two brothers carrying some more boxes into the house.  "Is this all from the old place?"

"Yeah. That was the last trip." Cordell says, the two putting boxes on the island.

"Hey, dad?" Stella walks over.

"Hey." He says.

"Can I paint my room?" She asks. 

"Paint your room?" Cordell asks.

"Ooh, can I paint my room?" Janie asks.

"I--" Cordell stammers.

"Benjamin Moore has this app that helps you choose colors." Stella says, standing on the other side of the island.

"Okay..." Cordell says.

"I like First Light." She shows him her phone.

"First Light." He finds the color. "Uh, very calming. Which would be great for you. Both of you." He turns the phone off. "Now, please help us unpack." He gives Stella her phone back.

"He added me on Insta, oh, my God." August gasps, walking in and wearing a blue wig and sunglasses.

"Knock it off." Stella says as Cordell laughs. "Give me that." She snatches the wig off his head.

"Okay, hey, hey." Cordell calls. "Once we get unpacked, we can grab pizza. Okay?" Janie runs upstairs.

"Yeah." August nods.

"Okay." Cordell says.

+++

Janie walks downstairs, going to the fridge. She stops at a photo on the table, frowning at it. She looks up when August walks in.

"What's this?" She asks.

"Dad and some lady." August informs. 

"When was it?" She asks.

"I don't know. He looks happy, though." August quietly says.

"Yeah." She mumbles. Janie feels herself start to heat up and she rushes back upstairs. She tries to take deep breaths, her hands shaking. A quiet growl escapes and she punches her dresser.

She groans at the pain that enters her hand and shakes it out, wincing. Huffing, she sits on her bed, her fingers digging into her scalp.

+++

Janie is sketching in her notebook, mostly to calm herself down. She doesn't answer the knock on her door, the person letting themselves in after a moment.

"Hey." Cordell quietly greets, though Janie still doesn't respond. "Augie told me you saw that photo that's downstairs."

"That what you were doing when you were ignoring us? Rebounding?" She asks.

"Janie." Cordell gives her a look. "That woman was part of my undercover crew. She's not part of my life anymore. The whole thing is done. I know you have questions, I understand. But I don't want to go back to that time."

"So we're just supposed to drown in curiosity and doubt. That's healthy." She remarks.

"I'm here now and I want to be here." Cordell tells her.

"And you're happy?" She questions.

"Yes." Cordell nods. "I'm happy to be home, to be with you guys. I just don't always know how to show it. But I'm happy."

"Okay." She mumbles.

+++

"Dad?" Stella calls as he walks past them and towards the front door in his uniform.