Cherished

18

Pierce offered Eva his bowl of ice-cream, and she took a spoonful.

"What is this one?" she asked him.

"It's butter pecan," he said.

"I don't know what it tastes like, but it tastes good," she said, returning her spoon back to her own bowl of strawberry ice-cream. She had no idea there were so many flavors to choose from.

The four of them were sitting outside the shop at a picnic table. The weather was still great, and the fading sun casted them all in a warm glow.

"You should tell Pierce what you told us earlier," Miles said, bumping his shoulder with hers.

Eva blushed. "I said that I felt safe with you guys."

Pierce's lips quirked up briefly. "Is that so?"

She nodded.

"We're glad you feel that way," Graham said, letting his hand brush over Pierce's back. "We want you to feel safe and trust us, so if something isn't right, whether it's with the three of us or the house, anything, I hope that you will come to us."

Pierce picked up her hand, letting his thumb skim over the back of it.

"How about we walk a little bit?" Graham asked, gathering their trash. Eva was glad he had suggested that because she was eager to walk by the windows of all of the little shops nearby.

Pierce held her hand as they walked. She liked having him near.

All of the windows were all so unique. Some had sparkly clothes, others had flowers. One of them was even full of books.

"Would you like to go in?" Pierce asked as she lingered outside of one store in particular. It looked to be full of small trinkets and things that would make good gifts.

Eva hesitated. She didn't want to make them go in if they didn't want to.

"I love this shop. Come on," Miles said, already going in. He held the door for her and she followed close.

She wrapped her arm around Miles, preventing him from walking off on her. It wasn't extremely busy, but there were a few people browsing, and it made Eva nervous. She tried to focus on the items displayed in front of her.

Miles picked up a candle, giving it a sniff.

"Floral-y," he said, holding it to her nose. She grimaced a bit. It was a pretty obnoxious smell.

Miles held another one up. This one was sweeter, but also woodsy. It was familiar in someway.

"Vanilla campfire," he said.

There was a vanilla lavender one that smelled really good. It was so fascinating that so much scent could be packed into one jar.

Miles and Eva browsed the whole store, not skipping over a single section. Eva had caught a glimpse of Graham and Pierce looking around on their own.

Graham must've found some stuff to purchase because he had a bag with him when they left.

"Thank you for taking me," Eva said after they had pulled back into the garage of the house.

"You're welcome," Graham said. He was the one that walked her up to her room. He handed her the bag from the gift shop. "This is for you."

"What?" she asked, peering into it to see its contents. "Graham-"

It was everything that she had liked. There was that candle, a necklace that had a small teardrop shaped pendant with pressed flowers inside of it, and a small bottle of lotion that had also smelled really good.

She didn't even know that he was watching. They made her feel so thought of and validated.

"It's not much, Evie. You need a few things of your own," he said.

She reached for him, and he pulled her close.

"Thank you," she said. "You are so kind to me."

He kissed her cheek.