"I do, though. You didn't have to drive all the way up here. You didn't have to stay in that terrible motel. But you did anyway, and it meant everything to me."
His hand finds mine across the center console and laces our fingers together. "You matter to me, Scout. If something is important to you, then I'll do my best to help."
He's so sweet. How could anybody think that Silas is anything but an overgrown teddy bear?
I joke, "Even my broken, depressed dad who can't see past his own grief enough to actually parent?"
"He's your dad." He glances at me. "But we should figure out a better situation than what he's got now. He can't stay in that house. You cleaned the living room and made a dent in the beer cans and newspapers accumulating there. But what about the upstairs? I hate to imagine it, Scout."
I push out a frustrated breath.
"I know. My sister and I have been talking about it for months. We just don't know how to make him leave. He won't listen to us."
"Then we make it impossible for him to stay."
"What do you mean?"
"Find him a place closer to Seattle. Somewhere with built-in support. People around him who can check in. And we move him whether he likes it or not."
I stare at him. "You'd help with that? That's a huge undertaking."
"Yeah. Of course I'd help. I'd do the whole move by myself if I needed to."
"Silas, that's a lot to take on. You don't have to..."
"I want to." His voice is firm and final.
"So bossy," I murmur. I flush and look away, trying to repress a shudder. When he uses that tone on me, it reminds me of him being dominant, telling me to be quiet, commanding me to lick his cum off his fingers.
By the time we get back to the condo, I can’t wait to be out of the car. Being exhausted down to my bones, wrung out emotionally and physically consumes me. But in a good way somehow? I feel as though I’ve gone through something hard and come out the other side.
Silas pulls me against his chest.
"My bed," he says. "Right now."
"It's only two o'clock."
"I don't care. You need rest."
I don't argue. He takes my hand and leads me to his bed, where I just let him tuck me in like I'm something precious. When he joins me under the covers, I curl into his side.
"Silas?"
"Hmm?"
"Thank you. For today. For all of it. For being exactly what I needed."
His arms tighten around me. "Anytime. I mean that."
I want to say more, but instead I just hold him tighter,breathing in cedar soap and clean skin. This is so warm and nice. I’m intoxicated just by hanging out with him.
Drifting off in his arms, I push away the small voice whispering Enzo's poison.
Not now. Not when things feel this good.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Silas
