Shifting, I maneuver us until she’s nestled in my lap, her arms tight around my neck. And I hold her, my hands stroking through her hair as she sobs into my skin, her tears soaking us both and sending bolts of pain ripping through my chest.
I’ll hold her forever, if that’s what it takes to make this right.
But I can’t go back and change things. Not the night she left.
Not the time she spent apart from us.
All I can do right now is hold on.
So that’s what I do.
25 – Stasi
Kit’s violet eyes are the first thing I see when I wake.
Stirring, I stretch out, drowsy and warm as I breathe him in.
Heknows. Knows what happened the night I left. Knows about Ella, even if he doesn’t have all of the sordid details.
And he’s looking at me as if I’m his sole reason for existing. The emotion locks in my throat, threatening more tears even though I don’t think I have any more left inside me.
His arms are still tight around me, even as edges of morning light glow from behind the heavy scarlet curtains. “What time is it?”
“Early.” He presses his lips against my hair. “Don’t go yet. Please.”
It’s the quiet, gentle plea that makes me turn to him. “Kit… what happens now?”
He sighs. At some point during the night he moved us, bracing his back against the wall opposite his piano, holding me as I cried out ten years of pain into his skin. I lean my face against his chest, listening to the beat of his heart.
“I think we need to speak to Rafe and Silas.”
Every relaxed muscle locks up. “No.”
The rejection is instant, almost without thought. Kit scowls as he looks down at me. “Why not? You can’t carry on like this, Stasi. It’s not right. If they knew, things would be different. Here, at least.”
“Because…,” I struggle, trying to find the right words to explain. “You asked me for the truth, and I gave it. But… they haven’tasked, Kit.”
And they’ve given me no inclination that they think the truth is anything other than what my sister says it is. That they even care enough to look at another possibility, the way Kit has done. And Silas knows what happened the night I left. Heknows.
But he hates me anyway.
Kit’s brow furrows. “I think you should speak to them,” he says finally. His voice is soft, reassuring as he pushes my hair away from my face. “But that’s not my decision to make. I won’t force another choice on you.”
I blow out a breath of relief. “Thank you. I don’t… I don’t want you to have to lie to them. Maybe… just don’t say anything? For now?”
I glance up at him hopefully, and his lips tilt up. “It’s going to be very hard not to mention you.”
“Why-oh!”
His lips descend on mine, his hand sliding up to tangle in my hair. I’m breathless when he finally pulls back, and I stare up at him. “So this…,”
His hand tightens, just the smallest amount. “I have a lot of making up to do.”
He kisses me again. “Making up?” I mumble against his lips.
“Mmm.” He moves to my neck, small, gentle bites against my skin that nearly make my eyes roll back as his tongue traces a slow, tortuous line up to my ear. “Ten years of making up to do.”
And as I pull back, I see his face. The pain he tries to hide. Cupping his cheeks, I force him to look at me. “I don’t blame you, Kit. You didn’t know.”
