I stuck my arm around Theo’s other side, taking some of his weight off Savannah. She had to be absolutely exhausted, but she hung in there for Theo’s sake. She’d never admit it, though. “Let me help you get him to the bathroom, and then I can get the sheets with you.”

She peeked at me over Theo’s shoulder. “You sure?”

“Absolutely, sweetheart.”

“You know, I could probably get into the tub myself,” Theo protested. His weak grasp on our shoulders said otherwise, and neither of us dropped our grip.

None of us had come into the house relying on other people, but somewhere along the way we had learned to work together. Savannah just made us realize it was okay sometimes. Being alone didn’t have to be the only way.

Once in the bathroom, Savannah sat Theo down in the corner and started the water. Not for the first time, I thanked my lucky stars we had running water. She turned around, satisfied with the temperature, and slapped her hands on her hips. “Right. Clothes off. I’d burn them if I could, but we’ll have to make do with washing them a thousand times instead.”

“I’ll, uh…wait outside.” I stepped through the door, closing it softly. Seeing Theo naked in the throes of passion was one thing. Seeing him nude at his most vulnerable was another situation altogether.

It was only a minute or two before Savannah emerged, a bundle of Theo’s clothes in her arms. “I’ve left him in there with strict instructions to use an entire bar of soap if necessary.”

I laughed. “Is it safe to leave him alone?”

“Yeah.” She nodded, chewing on her bottom lip. “He’s through the worst of it. I’m not worried about him falling asleep in the tub. He needs some time by himself to process everything, which he can’t do if I’m on top of him every moment of every day.” She tossed the clothes into the corner of the kitchen and we made our way upstairs.

“You seem to know a lot about this.” My hand rested on the top of the banister, and Savannah was a step behind me.

“My dad was an alcoholic,” she said simply. “The only thing I ever felt when he was going through withdrawal was pride. I was so damn proud he was willing to make that change for me. So many just accept their addiction as their fate, but my dad loved me enough to give it up. He took his last drink when I was twelve.” She smiled softly, lost in a memory.

My hand perched on Theo’s doorknob, feeling just as proud for this wondrous, non-judgmental woman. How lucky we were that she was in our lives. “You must miss him a lot, being stuck here.”