Or maybe… maybe I just started seeing the part of him he buried under all that anger.
I didn’t want to let go. I didn’t want to lethimgo.
Not this time.
So I stayed perfectly still, breathing quietly, feeling the weight of his head against mine, and decided.
Maybe I made the right choice last night.
Maybe asking him to be my friend wasn’t just forgiveness; it was a beginning.
A new one.
Because right here, right now, with Honey asleep on my lap and Joshua leaning against me like peace itself… it finally felt like I was where I was supposed to be.
Honey stirred first.
A tiny, squeaky yawn right against my ribs, then a soft stretch, paws pressing into my stomach as if I were just a pieceof furniture. The purring started next, loud and rumbling, and that’s what did it.
Joshua moved.
The warmth above my head shifted, his breath brushed against my temple, and before I could even pretend to close my eyes again, his head lifted. I froze.
Our eyes met.
Barely a few inches between us.
The kind of distance that feels like a choice.
The room was quiet, too quiet. The TV had switched to the home screen, the hum of the heater filling the silence, but it was like all I could hear was my own heartbeat thudding too fast.
He looked… different in the morning.
Messy hair, strands falling over his forehead. His jawline was sharper from sleep, a faint crease under his eyes, his t-shirt pulled tight against his shoulders in a way that made my brain short-circuit a little.
I blinked.
He blinked back.
For a second, neither of us moved… just looked.
And then Honey, absolute menace that she was, let out the loudest little meow, smacking her tail right between us like she was scolding us for existing.
The spell broke.
Joshua cleared his throat, sitting up a bit straighter, rubbing the back of his neck as if he could erase the tension with his palm. I stood up too quickly, clutching Honey like a lifeline. Her tiny body purred louder against my chest, smug as ever.
“Traitor,” I whispered to her under my breath, but my voice still came out shaky.
Joshua glanced up once, just once, and that was enough to make my pulse stutter again. That stupid, sleepy look on his face shouldn’t look that good on anyone.
He ran a hand through his hair, and his voice came out low, still rough with sleep. “Morning.”
God help me, it sounded like honey itself.
I swallowed hard, hiding behind the kitten in my arms as if she could save me from myself.
“M-morning,” I managed to say quietly, stuttering a little in the process.Well, I do have a stutter, but I thought it went away… not that it could overnight, but—
