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“I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Ginger frowned, but from the looks on everyone else’s faces—
At the end of the day, her cousin Arlo was one of the last people without a solution to things, and one of the reasons distance grew between Arlo and the rest of the family was that Arlo, at the end of the day, couldn’t rescue Ginger from her illness. And Gust remained less than pleased with their cousins’ responses to Ginger’s illness, yet Ginger couldn’t blame Mint, not when—
Mint was the one whom Arlo spoke of right now, yet he wouldn’t be there if he weren’t at his wits' end.
“It’s as if Sebby woke from a bad dream,” Arlo said, using his preferred nickname. “And he’s acting like there’s some kind of distance between us, like I don’t know him anymore. I can’t even get close enough to check for a fever, and you know full well we’ve yet to have a doctor take up residence. We’ve had to wait for…”
“I know,” Gust said.
“I could visit,” Ginger said.
And everyone looked at her, almost as if they thought she’d grown a second head, and yet she hadn’t.
“I want to see for myself.”
“Seriously,” Gust said.
“Look,” Ginger said, turning to glare at him. “I love how doting of an older brother you’ve become…”
“You didn’t have to put it that way,” Gust said.
“Yeah, I did,” Ginger said. “It’s just Mint. What harm could happen?”
“Go with her,” Gale said, looking at his eldest. “I’m worried as well, but Ginger may be the best one to approach him, as they spent most of their childhood together.”
“Not really.”
“Gust,” Ginger said. “It’s not his fault he lived with her part-time, and part-time with Aunt Robin!” To which Arlo flinched at the mention of his mother, who disapproved of him joining Civil Corps instead of simply running the local corps. He glanced away. “You’ll take me tonight, then?”
“You’ll disturb him at night?” Gust said.
A glare, and—
He didn’t argue with her about visiting Mint, but when they entered the domain—
He was in a corner, next to the worn-out bed, but Ginger remembered Robin took almost everything, so their Uncle Paulie provided a bed for the boy when he was home in Portia, as Arlo lived at the Civil Corps.
“Mint?”
And then he looked up at her, a wild look in his eyes and—
The moment she sat down, he glommed onto her, hugging her. “You’re alive.”
Ginger patted his back. “So, you did really wake from a bad dream then?”
“You were dead. I couldn’t do anything,” Mint muttered into her shoulder, continuing to hug him, not noticing Gust was also in the room, otherwise he might have been less likely to give such details. “And I ran away. I ran away and stayed away,” before saying, “I’m sorry.”
“Why are you sorry?” Ginger asked, his words confusing her.
“Because…”
“It wasn’t real, right?”
“It wasn’t real.” Mind didn’t sound convinced.
And then—
“Don’t die.”
“Hey,” Gust said, resulting in Mint flinching.
“Look. I’ll do my best not to die. Promise.”
There came a slight nod.
She turned to Gust. “Perhaps Arlo, when he’s out and about, could keep an ear out for a doctor who, I don’t know.”
“Right,” Gust said. “I guess I’ll talk to him? Not that I’m…” He then paused. “What’s with that face?”
“He just fell asleep.”
“What?”
“He mustn’t have been sleeping,” Ginger said.
“Well, his rambling makes no sense. I dragged him back here when we learned of your illness, and he’s not left since. Hasn’t left the workshop,” Gust said, glancing around. “Good grief, this place. How could Aunt Robin not invest? This is no way for him to be living.”
“We can worry about that later, right?” Ginger said.
“Yeah.” Gust came over, then gently lifted Mint off her, depositing him into the bed, tucking him in. “Shall we be off?”
“I’d rather not leave him. If he wakes and I’m gone? I mean, I think I’m the reason he’s in such a right state.”
“Right,” Gust said. “You know it’s inappropriate?”
“What do you mean?”
Gust sighed, rolling his eyes. “I’ll ask Uncle Paulie for another bed.” The pause. “Ugh. Maybe just a bigger one instead of three, even though it will take up a lot of room.”
“Huh?”
“Someone has to keep an eye on you two.”
And then Ginger gave him a look. “There’s nothing romantic between Mint and me, thank you very much. You of all people should know that.
Gust let out a snort, and—
Ginger sighed, shaking her head. Gust would be Gust.