“I haven’t talked to him since I was eighteen.”
I rub my forehead. I feel like I should have known that. Not that I could have because Stefan hadn’t told me. “Maybe they got divorced after you stopped talking to your dad?”
Stefan coughs out a bitter laugh. “Maybe, only Beau was in contact with Dad until recently. I doubt Beau would have kept news like that from me.” He turns his hand and tangles his fingers through mine. “I’m sorry. You’re trying to help, and I’m snapping at you.”
“It’s okay. You’re angry. You have every right to be.”
“But I shouldn’t be taking it out on you.” He looks away. “You didn’t sign up for this.”
“For what?”
“My baggage.”
“So what? Dating should only be about the good stuff? Take the highs and leave the lows? That’s not how it works, Stefan. I’m not one of your subs at The Library who walks out at the end of a scene.”
“I should be taking care of you.”
“You have. Lots. But again, it’s not how it works. We take care of each other.” I lean forward and brush my lips over his. “If it makes you feel any better, I can guarantee it won’t be a fifty-fifty split in who takes care of who. It’ll be more like seventy-thirty.”
He chuckles, puts his hand on my nape, and draws me close for a greedier kiss. I’m grateful that I’m already sitting down as the intensity of the kiss convinces my legs to fall asleep. Thankfully, my tongue continues to work, so I’m able to return the kiss eagerly.
Stefan bites my lip as he breaks the kiss and then knocks our foreheads together gently. “You’re amazing.”
My head becomes too heavy to hold up. I want to joke that he’s given me a big head, but my tongue is a block of lead in my mouth. I guess my point is proven. Stefan’s fingers flutter over my nape as I recover. It doesn’t take long. Even though my muscles have woken up, the urge to sleep is creeping closer, like a stalker I can’t get rid of. I don’t want to fall asleep when Stefan needs me.
“Hand it over,” I say.
“What?”
“Your baggage. I can carry a lot more.”
He smiles and opens his mouth to speak.
I quickly press my fingers over his lips. “Don’t.”
He raises his eyebrows. “Don’t what?” he asks after I move my fingers.
“Say anything that will give me an even bigger head. Or you know, trigger my cataplexy. It’s going to be hard to focus on you the more tired I get. Cataplexy is exhausting. Let’s focus on you, okay? You don’t need to talk if you don’t want to, but it might help. And if you don’t want to talk, at least let me hold you?”
Stefan rests his head on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around him and run my fingers through his hair. He’s silent for a few minutes. I take the time to look around his bedroom, hoping it will keep me awake in case he does decide to do more talking. His room is meticulously neat. There’s a laptop open on the desk, although the screen is dark. His chess set sits beside it, set up as though he’s expecting to play a game with someone at any second. The award he got from The Library is also on his desk, but nothing else. He has a bookcase which is full to bursting and of course a double bed. I almost laugh when I realise the bedding is entirely black. It has a sheen to it. I run my fingertips over the soft, cool quilt cover, raising my eyebrows as I realise it’s satin.
“I don’t know what I expected,” Stefan whispers. “I think, deep down, I believed Mum’s life had frozen the moment she left us. I didn’t want to think about her replacing us.”
I want to say it probably wasn’t like that, but I don’t know that for sure.
“I have a phone number.”
“Do you want to call her?”
“I don’t know. I’d need to talk to Beau before doing anything. He should know.” He pulls away from my embrace and sits upright. “There’s nothing I can do about that until he’s home. Right now, I need a distraction. Are you awake enough to do something?”
I frown. “Do what?”
He shrugs. “Go on an adventure.”
I smile apologetically. “Probably not, sorry.”
“Another time.” He brushes his thumb over my cheek. “How about we cuddle and you can fall asleep whenever you need to? Unless you need to go back to work.”
