The Neighborhood (Twin Estates #2)

by Stylo Fantome

  “It's not. Things won't ever be good again.”

  “Don't say that.”

  “I guess it's fair. You had to deal with an unrequited fantasy for years. Now it's my turn.”

  “Now you're just being dramatic.”

  “Not even a little, Tocci. Not even at all.”

  “Sometimes you are so beautiful, Wulf.”

  “Take care of yourself. And if you ever need anything, anything at all, just call me.”

  “Okay.”

  “I'm serious.”

  “I know you are. And I promise I will.”

  “But it was good, whatever it was.”

  “It really was.”

  “Katya Tocci – the best neighbor I ever had.”

  “Wulfric Stone – the most interesting neighbor I ever had.”

  28

  They'd had their last conversation together while they got dressed. Then he'd walked her to his door and he kissed her goodbye. Held onto her like he never wanted to let her go, his lips fusing to her own.

  But then he stepped away. Smiled at her and pinched her chin between his thumb and forefinger, tilting her head up. He looked her over once, like he was appraising her, and for quite possibly the first time ever, she felt like she passed muster. Then he let her go and wished her well.

  She walked through the party and found Vieve, gave a brief rundown on what had happened with her father. The other girl thanked her, then hurried back to her own house.

  Then Katya went and found her mother, giving her a fierce hug. When she pulled away, they were both glassy eyed and fighting back tears.

  Then she went up to her room and she crawled into bed. She slept for a long time. Through the rest of the party and the night. Through the morning and well into the afternoon. It was almost four by the time she went downstairs, and when her mother started talking to her, she already knew what the older woman was going to say.

  “You missed it dear, Wulfric came over to say goodbye. He had to go back to work. I wanted to come get you, but he asked me not to wake you. Just said to tell you that you'd be in his thoughts.”

  It was awful and it hurt and she hated herself a little, but she was confident about her choice. Both Wulf and Liam had put her through the wringer. Tossed her up and down and all around, and worse, she'd let them. She didn't want to be new-Katya or old-Katya or bitter-vengeful-bitch-Katya – she just wanted to be Katya, plain and simple. She would have to learn how, and she couldn't do that when she was caught up in all the drama they'd created.

  Seeing her mom in pain, and seeing her dad in the hospital, it had been like a wake up call. She didn't have time to figure out the learning curve of love with Wulf, and she couldn't wait around for Liam to learn what maturity was – she had a life beyond them, and it was time to focus on it. To put away childish things and start being her own kind of adult.

  Even if it was really, really hard.

  *

  Her father was in the hospital for another three weeks. Normally, an amputee didn't spend quite that long, but the severity of his injuries combined with another nasty round of infections had slowed his progress.

  But she could honestly say he was doing good. A lot of his eyesight had returned, which had done wonders for his mood. He still had a long way to go, a lot of hurdles to jump, but he was smiling and laughing again. He was banged up and bruised and missing a few parts, but he was still her father.

  “Wow, this looks great!”

  He was marveling at the sleek ramp that led up to his front door now. Katya chuckled as she pushed his chair.

  “Thanks. Wulf had it done right away, after the accident,” she explained.

  “Sneaky man, never said a thing to me.”

  “He's so selfish that way, just doing things and not wanting any thanks.”

  They both laughed. It hurt talking about Wulf, but she thought maybe if she kept doing it, it would eventually get easier.

  “I'm glad you wouldn't let anyone else come,” he commented when they finally got in the door. “Being out of the hospital is bizarre. Now that I'm out here, I'm not sure I'm ready for anybody to see me.”

  “Why not? I think the eye patch is sexy,” she teased.

  “Well, of course it is. Your mother won't keep her hands to herself.”

  “Ew, gross, Dad.”

  “Hey, you have to be nice to me now – I'm damaged,” he informed her.

  “Nice try, dude,” she snorted. “If anything, you're an improved model of yourself. Now that you've got built in wheels, we've got a whole new set of chores for you.”

  They both laughed again, and she almost wanted to start crying – because she was happy. Happy that they even could laugh after something so horrible. He was still her dad, still the same man she'd grown up with, still the jokester. She couldn't get over it.

  “You two!” her mom groaned, coming in the door behind them and kicking it shut. “I'll show your father the changes around the house, Katya, and you go get the rest of the stuff from the car.”

  While she ferried all kinds of things inside, her phone started ringing. She smiled when she saw Tori's number on the screen and she quickly answered.

  “Hey you, did you get home okay?” she asked. Her roommate had been coming down every weekend, helping to take care of things and keeping Katya from going insane.

  “Yup yup,” the other girl replied. “During the drive, I ate that entire pie you made.”

  “You did not.”

  “I so did. It was amazing.”

  “You're going to have a heart attack – do you have any idea how much butter was in that?” Katya laughed, dropping off the last bag. Then she went out on stoop and sat down.

  “Totally worth it. I don't know how you can just give up baking cold turkey,” Tori sighed.

  “I'm not,” Katya groaned. “I'm just taking time off. I'm still getting calls from clients in S.F., and I could find work here easily.”

  “Not the same.”

  “Close enough.”

  “You can't just put your whole life on hold, Katya,” Tori said in a stern voice.

  “Oh, okay. Sorry you're an amputee and half blind, Dad, but I gotta go have a life. Peace out!” she replied.

  “Stop being a smart ass. I'm not saying leave right this minute – but you quit your job and told me to find a new roommate. You can't live with your parents for the rest of your life,” Tori said.

  “And I won't. I'm just gonna stay a little longer, help my dad adjust to the house. And then ...”

  “And then …? What? Move back here and live on the streets? Fuck that, I'm not getting a new roommate.”

  “Tori, you need someone to pay half the rent.”

  “They haven't been charging me any rent – the last check was never cashed. Liam said to stop trying.”

  “Figures.”

  “How is he?” Tori asked in a careful voice.

  Liam had come down to Carmel. Just shown up. They'd had a few conversations on the phone, usually short and to the point. Not because she was still angry – she could barely remember even being mad. Removing bandages and bathing scarred and burned flesh did that to a person. She was just too busy to deal with her relationship issues with him.

  So he'd taken it upon himself to just show up. It had shocked her, opening her door and finding him standing there. He had immediately apologized to her and promised that he would turn around and go home, he had just wanted to see her. See with his own eyes that she was okay.

  But then she had burst out crying and he had hugged her and everything was alright. He came in and her mother cried and hugged him, too. Then she made up a guest room for him and he'd been there ever since, had become Mrs. Tocci's new best friend. He helped her around the house and ran errands and he'd been the one to drive them to and from the hospital to pick up Katya's dad.

  “He's good. We're good,” she corrected her answer.

  “Good, huh. Like good good?” Tori questioned.

  “No,” Kat
ya laughed. “Good like he sleeps down the hall and the only time we touch is when he's helping me in and out of the car. We're just friends. Probably should've always been just friends.”

  “I'm glad. He and I have sort of become really good friends, and I would just … I would hate having you two mad at each other,” Tori sighed.

  “Nope, not mad,” Katya replied. She hesitated for a second, then remembered that life was short, so she took a deep breath and decided to dive right in. “I know he's easy to fall for, Tori.”

  “Huh?”

  “He's gorgeous, and he's funny, and god, he has that grin,” Katya laughed, looking down and toying with a shoe lace. “He knows how to say all the right things to make you think you're special. Like you're the most beautiful, amazing person on the planet.”

  “Why are you telling me this?” Tori asked, but Katya ignored her.

  “And don't get me wrong – I like him. He's a good friend, would give me the shirt off his back if I so much as shivered.”

  “I don't understand -”

  “But I just want you to know – it's like he's programmed to say and do those things. He thinks he has to tell you what you want to hear, so you'll have to like him. Sometimes he gets out of control with it, saying things he doesn't mean and doesn't even necessarily think,” she spoke in a careful voice. Tori remained silent. “His intentions aren't ever bad, but he tends to forget that being friends, or being in love, isn't about being the best or being number one.”

  “I don't know why you're telling me this,” Tori said in a low voice. “He and I aren't like that.”

  “I know,” Katya said, glancing over her shoulder into the house. She could hear him laughing with her mom. “But I know you like him. You have for a long time. And if you ever decide to tell him, I just want you to know all that. To be aware of the kind of person he can be sometimes.”

  “I don't … I wouldn't ever … I can't ...”

  “It's okay, Tori. Really. It's okay. I'm just looking out for you. He's very blinding. Keep both eyes open.”

  There was an awkward silence, then Tori changed the subject. Asked about Wulf, but of course there was nothing to say. She hadn't spoken to him at all since he'd left, and she didn't feel right asking his family about him.

  The entire Stone household was in somewhat of a meltdown over Mr. Stone's visit and Brie's subsequent bender. Vieve was beside herself trying to deal with her little sister and a distraught mother. Katya tried to help as much as she could, but what with all the help her father required, she knew it wasn't enough. Vieve needed someone to be there for her, for once. She needed her big brother, but unfortunately, he still hadn't learned that money couldn't necessarily buy everything.

  Tori shared some funny stories from work, then changed the subject again. Told her about how Landon Edenhoff was giving his brother a run for his money in the casual sex department. But that just lead them back to talking about Liam, a subject Tori was clearly uncomfortable with, so she came up with a reason to get off the phone and they both said goodbye.

  Katya stood up and went inside. She shut the door behind her, then she leaned against it. Liam was in the kitchen, barely visible with his back to her. He was talking to her mother, moving his hands a lot and laughing. She smiled as she watched him.

  There'd been a long, late night conversation with him, too. A lot of truths spoken. He admitted to being jealous of Wulf, to always feeling second best to men like him. Liam insisted he really had feelings for Katya, that he honestly cared for her. She had said that was nice but she was swearing off men for a while.

  Which was technically true, but she also just didn't believe him. Oh, she believed he cared for her. They really were friends. But he wasn't in love with her, and since she'd had a long time to think about it and go over everything that had happened between them, she was sure he never had been. He'd just convinced himself that he was – because if he was in love with her and he got her to love him, then he would beat Wulf. Prove something to himself and to Wulf and to his family and his brother and anyone else who'd ever doubted him.

  It was ridiculous, but it seemed to be his approach to life in general. Everything was just a chance to prove himself. Sleep with a lot of women – proves he's a real man. Beat someone at a game – proves he's a better man. It was kind of sad really, and Katya wished she could help him. But she had her own issues, ones that had nothing to do with Liam Edenhoff.

  She stopped being lost in thought and she went into the kitchen. Helped her mother make dinner. Her father rolled around the kitchen, attempting to help as much as he could. He had no depth perception, which resulted in a lot of spilled items and rolled over toes. They all laughed a lot.

  By seven o'clock, Mr. Tocci was done. After he took an alarming amount of pills, Katya and her mother helped him into bed. Her mom stayed with him, pulling the blankets up around him and settling in, turning on their television. She wished them goodnight and shut the door behind her.

  “You're a good daughter, angel cake,” Liam sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he walked into the living room.

  “I try,” she laughed, following him and flopping down on the couch. He sat down next to her and looked at her for a moment.

  “I'm really sorry, you know,” he told her. She nodded.

  “I know. I believe you.”

  “You deserve someone a lot better than me,” he said, and she nodded.

  “I know that, too. Wanna watch a movie?”

  Instead of answering, he reached out and grabbed her hand. Linked their fingers together.

  “I hope I never do anything to hurt you ever again.”

  “That's not possible, Liam,” she laughed. “I'm going to hurt you, you're going to hurt me. It happens. Just don't do it on purpose again, and we're all good.”

  “I won't. Are you sure I can't talk you into coming home? You can have Wulf's old apartment,” he told her, reaching out with his free hand and brushing a lock of hair from her face.

  “He's not there anymore?” she asked.

  “No, he went back to his ivory tower. He wants to move Vieve in there, but I told him I wanted to wait till I'd talked to you about it.”

  She shook her head.

  “Give it to Vieve, she and Brie can live there. It'll be good for them,” Katya offered. He frowned.

  “We'll see. At least move back in with Tori – she's going stir crazy without you. She tried to bake snickerdoodles all on her own and she brought them to work. I thought she was trying to poison all of us.”

  She started laughing again.

  “God, I love that woman,” she chuckled. “But no. I'm going to stay here for a while, then maybe next summer, I'll figure out my next move.”

  “Next summer? Long time to be away from your home and your passion,” he told her.

  “This is my home,” she corrected him. “And I can bake anywhere. Don't worry about me, Liam. I'll be fine.”

  “But … I miss you. I miss our lunches and margaritas and all the tacos,” he said softly, smiling down at her.

  “I know. I miss them, too, but we'll be okay, Liam.”

  They stayed downstairs for a while, holding hands all through the movie. She fell asleep leaning against him and when she woke back up, she was in her own bed. She glanced around and didn't see him anywhere, which surprised her a little. Maybe he really was learning. She smiled to herself and snuggled down into her blanket.

  This is good. Things will get better. Smiling will start to feel real, eventually. Just focus on you and your family, and you'll get through this.

  29

  Another two weeks went by without too much notice. Liam had gone home the day after he'd carried her to bed, making her promise to call him all the time and visit at least once in the near future. She cried when she said goodbye, hugging him for so long that her mother eventually started pulling her loose.

  Her father was adapting well to his new situation. There were bad moments, and downright awful ones
– he fell out of bed in the middle of the night once, scaring about ten years off Katya's life with the way he screamed. They'd gotten him back to bed, but she and her mother had been up for the rest of the night, sitting on the couch and staring at the wall.

  But mostly, he was healing. He was going to his physical therapy and he was learning how to adjust. He'd always had a positive attitude, so he applied it double time to his healing. Mr. Tocci was going to be just fine.

  Her mother was also improving a lot. Nagging Katya about her love life, nagging her husband about leaving messes. She even agreed to help a friend plan a charity event, leaving the house all on her own – something she hadn't done since the accident.

  Another thing that helped immensely, they now had a nurse. After her father had fallen, her mother went to have lunch with Ms. Stone during the day and apparently told her all about the incident. Within hours, a full time, live in RN had shown up. She'd been hired by a Mr. Stone, she explained, and she was given permission to do any and everything within her abilities to make life better for Mr. Tocci. Katya didn't even want to think about how much something like that cost, so she'd just smiled and shown the woman to a guest room. She knew it wasn't right, accepting that kind of help from a man she had essentially broken up with, but it still felt good. Some stress that she wouldn't have to deal with anymore.

  Everything is going to be A-okay.

  “Kiddo!” her dad hollered from the garage. She traipsed out there and found him at his workbench. He was frowning as he worked hard at twisting a wrench.

  “What's up, Dad?” she asked, propping her hip against their rental van – a fancy one that had a lift for his wheelchair. A brand new Lexus was in the driveway, and Mr. Tocci was determined to get a prosthetic leg as soon as possible so he could get back to driving.

  “I'm having a problem,” he said, putting aside whatever it was he was working on.

  “What's wrong? Are you hungry? Is it your pain level? What do you need?” she asked, jumping up and standing next to him. He waved her away.

  “No, calm down,” he urged, using the lever on his motorized wheelchair to turn himself around. “I need to get rid of something, but it's kinda big. I was wondering if you could deal with it.”