Fusion by Nicole Williams

would make all of this all right with her.
    “Doing all right over there?” I asked, grabbing her hand as we headed up the porch.
    “All right over here,” she answered, smiling over at me. “Besides, the heavy stuff’s out of the way now, right?”
    “Absolutely,” I replied, when I should have said mostly . When it came to the world of Immortality, you were never “out” of the heavy stuff.
    “Dessert, coffee, family,” she listed as I swung the door open. “Easy, right?”
    “Right,” I said as we stepped into William and Bryn’s living room, realizing I’d forgotten to knock on wood.
    Six sets of eyes focused on us as the whole room went silent. Nothing but the sounds of wood popping in the fireplace and the espresso machine hissing in the kitchen. So much for being in the “heavy” clear. Every face, whether focused on me with looks of please-don’t-tell-me-you-screwed-this-up, or on her with sympathetic eyes, screamed “heavy.”
    Emma slid a little closer, the silence and stares making her uneasy.
    Scrambling for the perfect ice breaker, or any ice breaker, Bryn stood up, gliding towards us. “So you didn’t go running for the hills?” she asked Emma, giving me a devious smile.
    Emma relaxed, nudging me. “Not this time.”
    Lifting a shoulder, Bryn grabbed Emma’s hand. “There’s always a next time,” she said, steering her into the kitchen. “You look like you need a good cup of coffee.”
    I watched in wonder as Emma and Bryn flitted about the kitchen, grabbing cream from the fridge, a spoon from the drawer, engaged in conversation like they’d known each other since they’d been in diapers. Seeing the two of them laughing as they made jabs about me, everything felt oddly copacetic.
    “So,” Joseph said, lifting a brow, “how did she take it?”
    Throwing myself down on a chair, I kicked off my shoes. “Better than she could have,” I said, grabbing a stack of peanut butter cookies from the tray. “Not as well as I would have hoped.”
    “Where does that leave the two of you?” William asked, scooting to the edge of the couch.
    My least favorite place to be. “Limbo land, brother,” I answered, dropping the cookies back on the tray. “She could just as soon leave me tomorrow as she could stay right now, you know?” I said, staring at her in the kitchen as she sipped her coffee. “I can’t lose that girl,” I said, mostly to myself because I couldn’t. If I lost Emma, I’d lose myself‌—‌that’s what love had reduced me to.
    William nodded his understanding, regarding me with eyes that knew all too well what I was going through.
    Nathanial rose from the arm chair, already mid-stretch and yawn. “Night, youngsters,” he said, waving at Abby finishing her cup of coffee with the girls in the kitchen. “As reigning oldest one of the bunch, I’m going to bed.”
    Joseph whined his protest.
    “Let him be,” I said, giving those peanut butter cookies a second thought. “Cranky-pants needs a nap.”
    Nathanial scowled at me in passing, smacking the backside of my head. “And smarty-pants needs an ass whooping.”
    “I guess Cora and I are outta here too,” Joseph said, popping up. “We’ll leave the newlyweds and lovebirds”‌—‌he bounced his eyebrows my direction‌—‌”to their devices.”
    Snatching a cookie, I sailed it at his head and he caught in his mouth. “Have fun with your device,” I implied as he crunched around the cookie.
    Cora popped into the room just then, carrying her purse.
    “My wife always does,” he said, winking at me as he pulled Cora under his arm.
    She rolled her eyes, shoving at him lightheartedly. “You’ll be having fun with your own device tonight if you keep up that cocky attitude,” she said, accusing me with her eyes. “You’ve been spending too much time around Patrick.”
    I blew Cora an air kiss as they followed behind Nathanial and Abby. Two couples down, one more to go.
    Bryn and Emma weaved into the