I have to go home, no matter what happens.
CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE
Nova Marshall
PRESENT (2023)
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"The marvelous thing about lack of planning is that
failure comes as a complete and utter surprise."
Peter Green
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I’ve called him dozens of times, but he didn’t answer. I went to his house, but no one opened the door; so I thought maybe he was at his parents’ place. The lights are on, and I keep pressing the doorbell. I bought a cake at the first supermarket I found while running all the way here.
“Open the door! Please!” I start shouting, pounding insistently on the door. “Please! Please, Cooper, open the door!”
After minutes of knocking and ringing, the door finally opens, revealing Chris. His eyes are red, his face weighed down by sadness. “Nova?”
“Can I come in? Please? Is he here? I just need to see him for one minute, and then I’ll go.”
He sighs, placing a hand gently on my shoulder. “Nova, I don’t thin—”
I grab his hand, squeezing it tight. Mine trembles like there’s no tomorrow. “Please...”
“All right,” he concedes softly, “but, please, don’t—”
I don’t let him finish and step inside the house. I hurry down the hallway and head upstairs, where I find pieces of musical instruments scattered on the floor and his guitar tossed aside like garbage.What the...?
When I reach the landing, the floor is covered with his instruments. Some are destroyed, and a huge crack runs across the wall.
I fling open the door to his room—empty. Then I check the guest room—no one. Finally, I reach his parents’ bedroom door and push it open. There he is, lying in bed, as Daniel sets a tray with a bowl and a glass on his lap.
He lifts a spoonful of what looks like soup, and when he looks up to thank his father, his eyes fall on me. “Nova? What are you doing here?”
“What do you think I’m doing here?”
I cross the distance between us, kick off my boots faster than lightning, and set the cake on one of the nightstands before climbing onto the bed and kneeling beside him, pulling him into my arms.
His hands drop away from the soup, and out of the corner of my eye I see Daniel set the tray down on the other nightstand before quietly leaving, closing the door and leaving us alone.
“Nova... you shouldn’t be here. I don’t deserve this.”
I shake my head slowly, holding him as tightly as I can. “Don’t shut me out again, baby. Don’t ever try to shut me outagain.” I whisper against his forehead, pressing a kiss on his skin.
“Nova... I’ll never be enough for you.”
“You’re everything I’ve ever wanted. My Vincent. The love of my life.” I reply softly, pressing a kiss to the tip of his nose.
I glance up at the clock—it’s ten minutes past midnight. “Happy birthday, baby.”
I cradle his face in my hands and kiss his lips. His face is streaked with tears, his eyes red. “It’s okay. Everything will be all right, I promise. You’ll be okay, and you’ll be the happiest person alive, baby. I swear it.”
I wipe his tears away with my lips, covering his cheeks with dozens of kisses. Vincent closes his eyes, trembling, and I take the chance to kiss his eyelids. “I’m so in love with you, Cooper.”
