Suspicion

Joe and I are released the same day.

Ryder had stopped by the gift shop and got me some flowers on our way out.

It's an assortment of lilies and daisies. My face is in them as we approach the parking lot. They smell so good!

I grab Ryder tightly and shut my eyes, devouring the familiar scents. It brings flooding memories of my grandparents and their flower shop that I now own. How I miss those stress-free days. My only worries were school and ensuring I pass my tests. I was an honor roll student, and I prided myself on that.

I hear Joe and Freddie behind us talking about the explosion and Joe losing everything he owned. My heart tears into a million pieces as I remove the flowers from my face and casually look back at a crestfallen-looking Joe.

Ryder and I look at one another. Without speaking to one another, we know what the other is thinking. We have no objections to Joe coming to stay with us. We will also arrange to get him a new wardrobe.