Fielding has taken most of the calls from our dad, which I’m equally surprised by and grateful for. George won’t come into town until Tuesday, and he booked a hotel in Cleveland, so we don’t have to worry about seeing him at the house.

Just a few more days, then we’ll be able to move forward. Just a few more days until everything hard and complicated is forgotten, our saddest and lowest memories buried alongside her.

I cut through the living room and head to the kitchen to make lunch, only to stumble upon my brother lounging across one of the couches.

He’s staring at his phone, earbuds in place, cackling.

I pluck one AirPod out of his ear, and he reacts instantly, swatting at me and pulling me down onto the couch beside him.

“Why are you laughing like a hyena?” I demand, shoving him in the side for pulling me off my feet.

“Just one of your girlfriend’s daily videos,” he mutters under his breath before hitting play, turning up the volume, and handing me the phone. “Did she send you this one yet?” He hits restart, and a toddler with a beer bottle fills the screen, babbling about overdue rent.

I stare at the device, perplexed, when Will Ferrell opens the door.

“You said this was one of her daily videos?” I confirm.

“Yeah, bro. She’s been sending them to me all week.” He cackles in my ear when the toddler starts screaming about money, so I hand him back his phone and rise to my feet.

I can’t fight back the grin that’s taken over my whole damn face.

Maddie has sent me plenty of texts, mostly sweet, with the occasional flirtatious message thrown in the mix. She’s also sent me a number of selfies, each one immediately saved to my camera roll. All I have to do is tell her I miss her, and she sends a picture and says she misses me, too. But she hasn’t sent me any funny videos; that’s not our thing. That’s not what cheers me up. That’s not what comforts me or distracts me in times like these.

Immature humor is his thing. I’m once again stunned but delighted that she never forgets about him—she sees him, she knows him, and she cares for him, too.

Fielding and I are going to be okay. We’re both going to get through these next few days. I’ll make sure of it. And apparently, she will, too.

44. Maddie

Chapter 44

Maddie

I’ve never been more grateful to see Jake in my life. I get out of the car in the church parking lot at the same time he emerges from a black Tesla.

Huh. So much for being a Jeeper for life.