And when I finally collapse fully against his chest, skin slick against skin, legs trembling and heart sore, he kisses my shoulder like a promise.
“I’m not letting go,” he says. “Not now. Not ever.”
And for one quiet second, I let myself believe it.
Even if it’s just for tonight.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
EVEREST
Cove is still curledbeside me, her leg draped over mine, her fingers tangled with the edge of the sheet like she’s afraid it might all disappear if she lets go. Her hair is a wild halo against the pillow, her lips parted, her breathing slow. Peaceful.
God, she’s beautiful like this.
Not just in the obvious way, but in the way that devastates me. In the way that makes me feel like I’ve survived something just by being allowed to wake up next to her.
I don't move. Not yet. I justwatchher. Memorize the way her lashes flutter every so often, how her skin still smells faintly like vanilla, sex, and tears. There’s a tenderness in the air, the kind that only comes from digging through pain to find something worth keeping.
Eventually, her eyes crack open.
She blinks up at me, drowsy and raw, and gives a shy smile that’s all kinds of unfair. “You’re staring.”
“Can you blame me?” I whisper, brushing a strand of hair from her cheek. “You’re the best view I’ve ever had.”
She exhales a soft laugh, but it fades quickly. Her fingers tighten around the sheet again. “Everest… do you think we’re sick?”
The question slices through the calm.
I sit up slowly, propping myself on one elbow. “No,” I say, firm. “We were just... unlucky.”
She stares at the ceiling for a long time, like she’s reading words that aren’t there. “Feels like the universe played a dirty joke. Like our parents wrote a tragedy and we stumbled into the sequel without knowing the script.”
I reach for her hand. She lets me take it. “I don’t regret it,” I say. “Not any of it.”
Her eyes flick to mine. “Not even now? Now that we know?”
I shake my head. “We didn’t grow up together. We didn’t plan this. We didn’tknow.We were just two people trying to find something real in a world full of filters and fakes. And wefoundit. That’s not sick, Cove. That’s rare.”
She doesn’t answer right away. Her thumb traces slow circles on the back of my hand.
“Lorna said something yesterday,” she murmurs. “She said that we’re not wrong, that what we feel is only wrong ‘cause others made it that way. She also said I need to figure out if I still want you…and I do.”
I swallow hard.
“But what if someone finds out? What if we tell Tanner? Or worse, our parents? Do we just cut them out of our lives forever? Where do we go from here?”
I squeeze her fingers. “We can’t keep sneaking around. We didn’t do anything wrong on purpose, but now... now, we know.”
She nods. “My dad’s not going to help. He already said he’s out—wants nothing to do with your mom or that side of the family.”
I chew the inside of my cheek. “But my mom’s still in my life. And Tanner... he’s basically my brother. He deserves the truth.”
Cove sits up slowly, the sheet slipping down her spine, revealing the curve of her back. “So... what? We just tell them? We say "hey, surprise, we accidentally fell in love with our cousin—please clap?”
I laugh, but there’s no humor in it. “I mean, when you put it that way...”
Her smile falters, and something hardens in her expression. “They’re going to judge us.”
