“Well, you do now.” Luna smiles, reaching over to squeeze my hand.
I have a choice.
She’s right. For the first time in over a decade, that’s true. I started this by choosing to leave Kincaid. To stop placating my father. I made the choice to find Dean. And even if, at first, he wouldn’t let me leave, I’m the one who is still here by choice now.
The choice is mine, and my mind is clear.
We couldn’t have worked when we were kids. Dean was a disaster, and I was barely surviving. He wanted an escape, and I wanted to hold everything together. Even if my father hadn’t added pressure, we wouldn’t have worked.
Two broken people can’t put each other back together, and that’s what we were—a puzzle with more missing pieces than we could count.
But now, we’ve had time. Space.
Could that mean things have changed? Is there even the slightest chance we could start over?
“Talk to him,” Luna says, like she’s reading me too easily. “Chaos is a lot more understanding than people realize.”
I’d like to think that’s true, that we could erase the past and just start over. That he could forgive me for taking the easy road when I chose his brother. But he still doesn’t know all my sins. To move forward, I need to reveal everything.
A knock comes at the front door, and I know it’s Dean without having to walk over and open it. I feel him, like I have all these years. That undeniable energy that is him, existing in this world, whether he’s near me or not. The other half that I was too scared to claim back then, so I pushed him away.
Maybe that was for the best. We wouldn’t have been good for each other in that state. It’s possible we would have simply ruined each other more. But now…
Is there any denying this pull?
After our night together at Sapphire Rise, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to bury my feelings for him again.
“I’ll get that. You should go to bed.” I stand as Luna yawns bigger this time.
“Call me tomorrow, okay?” she says, already heading down the hallway.
“I will.” I walk to the door, and when I swing it open, Dean stands with his arms caging the doorframe. His head hangs low, his dark hair messy. He’s exhausted.
Defeated.
When his eyes meet mine, they’re endless.
“You came to get me.”
“Promised you I would, didn’t I?” He grins, and even if the weight of tonight is heavy in his gaze, there’s light in his smile.
Just for me.
I step outside, and Dean takes my hand. He kisses the back of it, pausing with his lips on my skin. Breathing me in like he’s checking that I’m still here.
For the first time in years, I am.
A bitter-cold chill runs my spine. Nothing should be cold in Texas this time of year, but the emptiness of the hallway has me shivering. I rub my hands on my arms, but there’s no warmth to be found.
I’m staring at a closed door.
The moment I breach that threshold, the doctor’s words become true. Out here, there’s still a chance she’s going to pull through, but the moment I step inside that room…
I shake my head, unable to think about it.
My eyes close, and memories haunt me in flashes.
I see Mom braiding my hair so tightly that my eyes watered. She would help us get ready and pick out what Eden and I would wear so Dad wouldn’t complain that we didn’t care about appearances.
