I turned my head. “You okay now?”
She shrugged. “As okay as anyone with an alcoholic mom and a father who’s threatened to disinherit me unless I marry one of his work buddies son’s. What about you?”
“I’m always okay.” I shrugged.
“Bullshit.”
I gave her a look.
She rolled to her side, propping herself up. “You act like nothing touches you, Sin. Like you’re invincible or some shit. But I see it. You feeleverything. You just don’t let anyone see the real you.”
I stared at the sky, bright stars twinkling like my life was some cosmic joke, jaw clenched so hard it ached. “What’s the point? You let someone in, they leave.”
“What happened today?”
Silence.
“You’re not the only one with Mommy and Daddy issues.”
“I know I’m not. But this—” she gestured toward me. “Isn’t that.”
A frustrated huff left my lips. “I can’t talk about it.”
Thalia scoffed. “I’m not blind Sin.”
Time seemed to stand still as I weighed my words, only the cool breeze ghosting over my skin and the soft cadence of our breaths marked the passage of time.
“No one has ever gotten under my skin like him.” I rolled my bottom lip between my teeth. “Normally I’m a one and done kinda guy. Never go back for seconds.”
Thalia’s chuckle forced a smirk to lift my lips. “Where’s the fun in that?”
“Indeed.”
“You know,” she said softly. “There is more to life than just fucking around.”
I scoffed. “You take that back this instant!”
“No.”
“That’s blasphemous, T.”
“I know. I know.” She sighed and shuffled around until she was facing me and drew her knee up to her chest. “But it’s true. There’s connection and…love.”
“Eww. Don’t get your feeling cooties near me.”
She threw her head back and cackled into the wind. Then this dopey-eyed look took over her face.
“This isn’t like that.” My words were soft, barely above a whisper. Thalia shook her head. “I’m not… it’s not like you and Claire.”
Her inhale was sharp but not judgmental. Just... empathetic.
“He always walks away…” I sighed. “He touches me like he’s starving and then walks away like I don’t exist.” I picked a blade of grass and rolled it between my fingers. “And every time I tell myself I don’t care. But fuck, Thalia, I think do? Maybe I just feel sorry for him.”
She reached out and took my hand, grounding me. “You care about him. There’s nothing wrong with caring.”
I shook my head. “No. I just—Iwanthim. That’s all. It’s a challenge.”
“Not judging by the way you look when you talk about him.”
