The depth of her feelings, of her heartbreak, it all faded over time. The embarrassment became an almost fond memory to look back on.
It never disappeared, though. Not completely. Kieran may have thought that Sammie was nothing more than a girl with a crush, but she’d meant it when she said she loved him. She loved the way he saw her, the way he always included her in their summer games at the park. She loved the way he loved his parents, never snapping at them like how Atticus sometimes did with their grandmother.
Sammie had meant what she’d said. She’d known that it was real, that it was bright. And even though it dimmed with time, that light never truly went out. A flickering candle, locked away in a forgotten room, just waiting for someone to find it again.
CHAPTER FOUR
WHY THEFUCKwasn’t Atticus answering his phone?
Sammie ended the call when his dumbass, cheery voicemail sounded out for the third time in a row, trying a different number.
“What’s up?” Kai asked after the second ring.
“Why isn’t your boyfriend answering his phone?”
Sammie seethed at the chuckle he let out. “So he’s just my boyfriend when you’re mad at him, not your brother?”
“Yes.”
A full laugh this time, something that Kai didn’t give easily. It calmed her. Just a bit. She pointed toward the floor drain as she moved to stand in the garage door opening, hoping the light summer breeze might cool her overheated skin. Luz nodded in understanding as Carson hung his head, accepting premature defeat. Cleaning the drain was easily one of the worst parts of the job, and no one ever wanted to deal with the slimy detritus waiting inside.
“Good to know,” Kai said, pulling Sammie’s attention back to their conversation. “Attie’s taking a nap. It’s game day, he has his routine.”
Sammie groaned. “Wake him up.”
“Nope.”
“Please?”
“I’m setting up for a livestream,” Kai said simply. “If I wake him up now, he’ll want to move on to the next part of his routine, which involves me, and I have stuff to get done.”
Sammie rolled her eyes. “He can skip whatever freaky shit you two get up to on game day this one time. I need to talk to him.”
She thought she could feel Kai’s searing glare through the phone. “Is it an emergency?”
“Well,” Sammie said, dragging the word out. She could hear Luz and Carson bickering in the background over whose turn it was to clean the sludge out of the drains. “No, it’s not an emergency.”
It definitely felt like an emergency.Hadfelt like one for the last several days, and Sammie had finally reached her breaking point.
“You’re coming to the game, right? Talk to him after.”
The game. Fuck.
Sammie chewed her bottom lip. “I’m skipping this one.” That was a lie, one she’d been telling herself all morning.
A too-long pause fell between them.
“No you aren’t.”
“I have to.”
“Sammie,” Kai said slowly. “You can’t miss this one. It’ll throw him off.”
Got ‘em.
“Then wake the bastard up so I can talk to him,” she said, tone matter-of-fact.
A sigh came across the line, followed by muted footsteps. Sammie could hear murmuring voices for several moments before her brother finally took over the phone.
