“You’re not real,” she murmurs.
“Remember that next time I piss you off.”
Her smile is little more than a weak smirk. Nonetheless, it’s a feat. She accepts a clean shirt and shorts that don’t quite fit, then climbs into his bed. Beneath the covers, she initiates the tangling of legs and hands.
“You’re afraid,” Hiram whispers.
“Deathly.” Veda’s confession is barely a whisper. “Of things within my control and beyond.”
“I am, too.” Hiram lifts onto his elbow to look at her. “The only way out is through.”
“I know.” The corners of her lips dip into a frown. “I hate that I can’t stay upset around you. I wanted to wallow. I never got to forgive her, but now I feel this fragile sense of peace. How did you know I needed to sit with everything?”
“Because I know you. Just as you know me well enough to call out my shit from the beginning.”
Veda rolls onto her back, staring at the ceiling. “I’m trying to figure out how we got here so quickly.”
“The sequence of events doesn’t matter, we’re here now.” Hiram kisses her temple. “This is the last thing we should be thinking about. There’s too much happening.”
“You’re right.”
“And you hate it.”
Veda scowls at him. “You’re too smug about this.”
“Am I?” Hiram makes a small noise. “And here I thought everyone wanted to be seen and understood by at least one person?”
“Not everyone. Not me.” Veda’s voice lowers. “To be seen is to be known, to have your problems laid out and weighed. You set yourself up for judgment, acknowledge your imperfections, and expose them.”
“Because you’ll be vulnerable, right?” Hiram shifts closer. “Too late. You already are.”
“It’s horrible. I don’t recommend it.”
He smirks. “I’m sure you don’t. You’d rather suffer in silence. I know. I’m the same. But you yelled it out of me, so I think it’s only fair I pay it forward.”
Veda sighs. “Today is going to suck.”
“It is.”
Instead of sleeping, Veda melts into him, her hand resting on his chest until she is as steady as the pull of gravity. In the mooring silence, his heart anchors itself. Calm acceptance keeps him steady, equally as tethered to her.
He’s known since the first wave, but there hasn’t been time to dissect the feelings that have lurked longer than his practical heart cares to admit. Hiram doesn’t shy away. He makes every choice that comes with loving her, and waits for Veda to accept him when she’s ready. He isn’t sure when that will be, if they’ll have time or space to think beyond the imminent, but he’ll be ready when the time comes. For now, he lives for these fragile moments, holding Veda until her breathing deepens. He wants to stay like this forever but closes his eyes until it’s time to face the day.
Just after noon, Veda returns with a bouquet of Ruth’s favorite flowers. Instead of attending the Seer’s memorial, she holds her own, sitting on the dock and setting the flowers adrift.
The sun begins its descent, slowly sliding down to kiss the horizon, but Veda doesn’t move. Antaris joins her for a spell, offering silent comfort. Then Hiram does, too. The dock slowly gets more crowded as Gabriel comes with August. Khadijah and Peter stop by on their way home from Ruth’s memorial, Khadijah carrying a familiar floppy hat.The couple sits on either side of Veda, talking. Only when they succeed in making her laugh does Hiram leave to finish dinner.
Everyone stays for an unusually quiet meal, but afterward, while Veda watches cartoons with the boys and Khadijah, Hiram walks outside. When Gabriel spots him, he ends what appears to be an intense call in a hurry and gives him a look that reminds him of August.
“I need another favor,” Gabriel says.
“Ispecificallysaid to not need me anymore.” Hiram then asks, “What is it?”
“Francisco is on a leave of absence, so I’m currently without a partner and technically on desk duty, which I hate because everyone is here for this manhunt and fucking things up. Anyway, I went canvassing alone by the Dalneau Bridge—”
“Terrible idea.”
“I know.” Gabriel rolls his eyes. “But I think I found what Everett meant when he said we’d find the rest of the truth there. I know they searched the area with a fine-tooth comb and found nothing, but I went out a few days ago while August was with his mom. At some point after a few hours, I realized I was walking in circles and touched a tree that turned to ash. Then, with every step I took toward a certain point, everything died. Eventually, I couldn’t walk forward anymore.”
