“I took her on because she was the only other time I’d failed.” My eyes were on her. “Because I’d let things happen, and now I was responsible for another girl’s downfall.”
Lana blinked at me, like she was made for this job. “Two things.” She counted with her hands. “One, what happened to me and Cora was not our downfall; it could have been, but we both fought back. So don’t even waste your time thinking about that.”
I nodded, because she made things so clear. How could she make things so clear?
She smiled as I looked at her. “And two… You know that she thinks the world of you, right?”
I didn’t move.
Lana nodded. “She does. In fact, I think she likes you. I’m sure I got those vibes anyway.” Her smile peaked. “Whenever she said your name, she’d do this thing like you were all she could picture, and the corners of her mouth twitched a little.”
Something warmed in my chest.
“She looked a little like you do right now, actually.”
I brought my eyes into focus, back to her. “Me?”
Her eyes widened. “Oh my… do you like her?Likelike her?”
I shrugged, like it was nothing, when in reality there was a whole firework display taking place in my heart.
The truth was that I’d liked her for a long time. Like, before London. I’d pushed it down. And away. But it was always there. Sitting right behind my heart. She was impossible not to fall for, I knew that now, but she did it in a way that I didn’t even realise I liked her until I was unconsciously smiling as she spoke, hanging onto that accent like a fucking loser that would do anything to have it be the sound that woke him up in the mornings.
Ilikedher, liked her.
Actually. No. Fuck that.
I loved her.
Head over heels in love with that girl.
“Wait, never mind.” Lana’s voice tugged me back into reality. “Your face just answered for you.”
The fireworks were on their big finale and… what… was I… blushing?
“You’re blushing,”Lana confirmed for me. Then her hand tapped the back of my hand. “Marcus, you’vegotto tell her.”
Right as the last explosion was set to go off, something jammed. Wires tripped. No-one pressed the big fucking red button and the sky was empty.
“No.” My voice had sunk. “I… uh… I can’t do that, Lana.” The fog faded. “Not yet, anyway. She’s doing well, and I don’t want anything to mess that up for her.” Only a few stars appeared, but it was nothing special. “I don’t want to throw her off.”
For a moment her face was masked with sadness. Or maybe it was pride. It was both combined, actually, the longer I looked. Her eyes held mine like a hug, that finite grip that could never separate us, regardless of what life threw our way.
Her head tilted to the side, her hair falling down her face as those soft eyes clung to mine. “What did Mamà used to say?”
Si no llueve, no hay flores.
No rain, no flowers.
I huffed a laugh, and simply rolled up my sleeves, revealing the words inked on my wrist.
Her eyes smiled with her as she saw it.
So did mine when she tugged her shirt to the side.
I eyed the ink that sat on her collarbone, nodding my chin at it, my smirk in full force. “Little reckless, don’t you think?”
Her smile spread wide as her head tilted. “Coming from the man with eight thousand of them.”
