Eight
The door has barely shut behind Rio before Agatha let out a slow breath, pressing her hands into the cool counter to ground herself. She was not going to let this interaction between her and Rio consume her thoughts.
She turned and saw the stacks of boxes Billy must have brought in earlier while she and Rio were talking. Well - she definitely could go for some shelf stocking right now. Maybe if Billy helped her, she could keep the conversation going and avoid thinking about -
“I wanna go to the movies,” Billy announced, climbing onto one of the bar stools near the register.
Because of course he does. And of course he’s going to announce it while Lilia is here, she loves the movies. Agatha was pretty sure Billy had caught on that Lilia would take him to the movies to get out of chores, as long as he asked her in front of Agatha.
Agatha raised an eyebrow, “Oh do you now? This wouldn’t have to do with all the books I need help stocking, does it?”
Lilia was stepping in before Billy had a chance to respond, “Now, I never made you stock the shelves while you were under my roof. He shouldn’t have to, either.”
Dammit.
Lilia was right.
When Lilia had adopted Agatha, she never enforced many rules. Curfew was before Lilia went to sleep - sometimes eleven, sometimes two. She never had to check in, as long as she stuck with Jen and Alice. Agatha definitely did not have to help out in the shop, which was really unfortunate for current Agatha right now, who wanted someone there with her as a distraction.
But, Lilia had always trusted Agatha.
Agatha promised herself when she and Wanda had officially become Billy’s guardians, she would give him the same trust Lilia had given her.
“Fine, you’re right. Go, both of you. Enjoy the movie. Bring back some popcorn if you have any left.” Agatha said.
Billy’s smile was ear-to-ear as he literally dragged Lilia out of the front door with him.
Lilia was laughing as she was pulled along. “We’ll be back later.”
So Agatha did the only thing she knew how to do now that she was alone again: stocking.
Unfortunately for her, it did nothing except to stop her from replaying her conversation with Rio.
You didn’t make a fool of yourself.
Agatha rolled her eyes at the memory.
What did that even mean?
Was Rio actually into the flirting?
Or was she just playing along - because that’s what Rio did. Because Rio played along with things, let the mess happen then moved on without a second thought.
Except, Rio did care. She had to.
The makeup for Billy and now running out of the brunch after - was it Evanora that was speaking when she left? Yeah, it must have been because Agatha wasn’t listening to it.
But then why did Rio come here? To her bookstore?
Instead of her hotel? Or wherever she was staying. Not that Agatha has thought about it.
Rio obviously hadn’t known the store was Agatha’s now. Agatha remembered the surprise on her face when she walked behind the counter.
But she also remembers how easily Rio had spoken with Lilia. They had been talking for a while, judging by how comfortably Rio had been leaning on the counter -
Agatha shook her head and turned back towards the nearest shelf, adjusting a few of the books.
She shouldn’t even be thinking about this. About her.
Because Rio was Jen’s step-sister.
Or sister.
Isn’t that what Jen called her today when she asked for photos with her?
Jen surprised Agatha twice today. In the span of an hour, stood up to her mother in defense of Billy and specifically asked for a photo with Rio.
Her sister.
The bell at the front of the store ran out and she nearly jumped at the sound. Customers. A perfect distraction.
She put on her polite customer service smile as she turned towards the entrance, greeting the couple who walked in. Agatha was even mentally patting herself on her back because she hadn’t thought about Rio the entire time she walked the couple through the aisles of bookshelves.
Until checkout.
At the register.
Right where Rio had been sitting earlier today. In her brunch outfit. Leaning over the counter.
It took everything in Agatha to go back to the stack of boxes once her customers had left. But she needed to do it. Distract herself.
By the time Lilia and Billy returned from their movie, Agatha had emptied five of the boxes. Only five.
But then Billy was telling her about the film, and that snapped her out of her thoughts real quick, because she was definitely following along. To the storyline of the movie they just went to see - Spiderboy? - yeah that one.
Then Billy excused himself to the restroom, and Agatha felt Lilia’s eyes on her.
She turned to see Lilia watching her with a gleeful look.
She felt her eyes narrow. “How do you know Rio?”
Lilia’s eyebrows rose, “It’s Westview, Agatha.”
Agatha scoffed, “It just seemed like you guys have known each other more than just in passing, is all.”
Lilia tilted her head slightly before answering, “She used to come to the store everyday after school. We didn’t speak a lot, but she’d go hide in that corner in that chair,” she said while nodding towards the chair in the corner.
Everyday?
“What do you mean everyday?” Agatha asked.
“Right after Ramiro died, she started coming here. I think it was a comfort spot for her. He used to bring her all the time when she was little. They stopped coming for a while, then Ramiro’s accident happened and suddenly she was here everyday.”
Agatha had nothing - nothing - to say at that.
Because how did Agatha not notice?
Lilia continued when Agatha didn’t respond, “That’s why in high school I kept the store open until 9. That was Evanora’s curfew, I think. She’d do her homework. Sometimes she’d just read. We didn’t talk much. Actually now that I think of it, the conversation you and Billy walked in on was the longest time we’ve ever spoken.”
Agatha blinked, surprised. Nine had definitely been Jen’s curfew. She never let the three of them forget it. Nine on the dot.
How had she never known any of this?
How did she not notice?
The bookstore - the place that was now hers - felt different. Like a thread between her and Rio she hadn’t even known existed. That entire time.
Then Billy was back, and he was asking Lilia about something, and Agatha turned back to her boxes.
This time, she let herself think about Rio.
Because now she had more pieces to the puzzle.
Rio had come to the store because it meant something to her.
—--
Agatha drove Billy back to Wanda’s with a quiet goodbye. He didn’t linger behind in the car, he just gave her an absent wave as he rushed out of the passenger seat. She watched him walk into the complex, and waited for his text confirming he was inside before finally pulling away
The drive home was a blur. She didn’t particularly mind it this time.
Her mind was too tangled to pay attention to the road, to the passing houses, the landmarks she’d driven by hundreds of times.
When she pulled into her driveway, the silence and darkness of the house hit her immediately.
Then headlights lit up her silhouette against the garage door. A car was pulling into her driveway next to hers - Jen and Alice. Jen was driving, with two grins plastered on their faces. Alice, in the passenger seat, raised two bottles of wine in her hands as Jen turned off the car and opened the door.
“Want to watch a movie?” Jen asked, a grin still etched on her cheeks.
Alice was now waving a smaller paper bag in her hand now.
Ever since Billy became hers and Wanda’s - “watching a movie” was code for smoking. Because as much as she gave up all of her other bad habits - cleaned up her life - their life - after Pietro died, smoking weed was something she wasn’t willing to part with. That didn’t mean Billy had to know about it.
Agatha was already smiling, walking towards the two of them to help them with their bags of snacks and drinks, and whatever else Alice wanted to bring tonight.
She loved when they came over like this - insistent, cheerful, alive with noise and energy. She never had to ask, they just knew when to be there. At her doorstep. With weed, or wine, most of the time both, and ready to distract Agatha as long as she needed.
Agatha had good friends.
They settled in the living room when Jen started talking about the spa trip tomorrow. Alice was asking her questions about what to expect, what not to expect.
Agatha already knew all of it. She’d memorized the agenda - remember?
Massages.
Facials.
Robes.
Relaxation - Jen had insisted they’d all be relaxed.
Overnight.
Just the four of them.
Oh fuck.
The four of them.
Because when Jen had planned the spa trip, she insisted Rio should come with them.
Agatha hadn’t figured out the reason for that still - Jen had never insisted Rio was invited to things before - but that didn’t matter now.
Because - Overnight.
Well, at least Evanora was paying for this trip, because Jen was already going on about how they all had separate rooms.
Because Jen had insisted on Rio being there, because it was her sister.
Agatha let Alice and Jen continue their back-and-forth about what they were most excited for. She, on the other hand, had given exactly zero thought to how she was going to handle this.
With Rio there.
Overnight.
Then finally - finally - Alice put something on and Agatha let herself drown in the trashy tv.
—--
She woke up to the sound of doors opening.
A knock on her bedroom door.
She cracked one eye open as it swung open. Alice.
Oh right. Alice and Jen had stayed over. Because they smoked a lot, and she’s pretty sure they drank even more.
Agatha groaned, and Alice - the bitch, who never got hangovers - was grinning far too brightly but, mercifully for Agatha, she kept her voice low.
“Hey, I’m taking Jen back to Evanora’s so she can pack. Then I’ll grab my stuff and come back for you in, lie, an hour so we can head to the resort.”
Fuck. The spa trip.
Agatha’s getting too old to consume this many substances in one night.
Agatha felt herself nodding as she shut her eyes again. She heard her bedroom door close and she let herself feel nauseous for all of about twenty seconds before she pushed herself up on her elbows.
Shower. She could shower.
And then get ready.
For the spa trip. Overnight.
Just the four of them.
She let the hot water clear her head, grounding herself in the warmth and steam, letting it wash away the haze of last night.
But then she made the mistake of looking in the mirror.
Yeah. She was going to need more than an hour.
If she could clean up enough, maybe she wouldn’t look as shitty as she felt. Not that anyone would notice—because no matter how awful she felt after a night out, she could hide it just as well. If not better.
Luckily, she had packed ahead of time. Three days ago, to be exact—because as much as Jen micromanaged the wedding, Agatha was not going to be the reason anything came off the rails. Including this damn spa trip.
So, back to getting ready.
Knowing Jen, this place was probably even fancier than the golf club for brunch yesterday.
Agatha found a dress that would work. Then heels. Okay, yeah, a full face today. She had to cover last night a little.
She let her hair air-dry, and by some miracle, it fell into loose waves down her back.
Suddenly, she felt like herself again.
Except for the headache. And was she still a little high?
Did they have edibles last night?
She didn’t let herself dwell on it because she heard Alice pulling up in her driveway. Grabbing her bag off her dresser, she headed outside.
And got into—Jen’s car? That Alice was driving?
Oh, right. Jen had been dropped off to pack.
Agatha barely had time to register it before Alice was whistling as she pulled on her seat belt.
“What?” Agatha gritted out.
“Nothing, nothing. You just look good.” Alice smirked. “That wouldn’t have anything to do with who’s joining us today, would it?”
Agatha rolled her eyes. “We talked about this yesterday. Nothing is going to happen between me and Rio, okay?”
Alice’s smirk only deepened. “Maybe nothing will happen. But do you want something to happen?”
Agatha ignored her.
She turned toward the window, letting the sunshine soak into her skin. The sun will make her feel better, surely.
Agatha pulled on her sunglasses anyway.