Blood Marriage

Sixteen: In Which Alice Apologizes

Hartley's house was one of three on the property.

Ellie and Kaz had the biggest home, partly because they housed everyone who needed a space to live that did not yet have a home. Harper and Alice had bedrooms there, as well as Granny— though, Granny had notably claimed the attic as her own from day one. It was also because Kaz was responsible for the construction, and he was not known to do things halfway. Their home looked like a scrumbled-together art piece, with patched together colored glass for the windows, walls made of stone, brick, and logs, and it all came together into a structure that seemed chaotically beautiful.

Miriam and her family lived in a standard log cabin style home, which they'd picked for simplicity and reliability. Miriam, Sam, and their two children had plenty of room in that place, and room for visitors, too.

Hartley, on the other hand, was the only resident of his home. The simple siding was painted dark blue at his request, the windows flanked by clean, pale gray shutters. A few wicker chairs sat on the simple, covered porch, the recently painted white railing practically glinting in the sunlight.

As she walked closer, it occurred to Alice that she'd never actually been inside the house since Hartley officially moved in. Of course, she'd seen it as it was built, but she didn't know what the inside looked like. Hartley was very private, and she'd... Well, she'd never passed the requirements to enter his home or his heart, apparently.

Brushing off the bitterness building on her tongue, she forced herself to look at the other surroundings even as she grew closer to the dark blue house. In addition to the houses, they had a small barn, a shed for gardening supplies, and Kaz was working hard on a greenhouse structure. The familiar surroundings should have been soothing, but Alice couldn't brush off the thought of the last time she'd seen Hartley.

She shouldn't still feel this bitter. She certainly didn't feel bitter because she wanted him.

"I think you want to be loved. I do not, for one moment, believe you really love me as you think you do."

The words still stung, and if she was honest with herself, she knew why: Hartley was right.

She'd already come to that conclusion when thinking about Xavier, but being back here made things feel in perspective in a way that she wasn't expecting. It was amazing how much three weeks away from home could change you, but perhaps that was also because Alice had never been away from home. She'd never had the chance to be without people who saw her grow up, to discover who she was...

And perhaps that was another reason she'd latched onto Hartley. He hadn't seen her grow up, so she could make herself into what he wanted in a partner without suspicion or skepticism... but that hadn't worked. He'd seen right through her.

And now she had Florian, and she was learning who she wanted to be, just as herself, as Alice... And Florian liked it. That thought gave her enough courage to face up to her past actions.

Hartley was sitting on the porch of his home, just as he had been the day she'd run away and found Xavier in the woods. He was reading a book, and though she couldn't see what it was, she was certain he'd finished the previous one by now. The man read at an incredible pace.

He looked up when he heard footsteps.

It was like Harley to be calm. He was generally unshakeable, no matter the circumstance, so it wasn't too surprising that he only slightly flinched when he looked up from his book. Locking eyes with Alice, his posture stiffened a little, his eyes going almost imperceptibly wider, but that was all.

He was silent as she drew closer to the porch, keeping her steady pace, petting Missy absently to help keep herself calm.

When she came close to the porch, she stopped before walking up the steps, and for the life of her, she could not figure out what to say. Her mouth flapped open and closed as Missy looked back and forth between them, but no help came from her possum companion.