He heaved out another breath and scratched his beard. “The books are my late fiancée’s. She was an avid reader. Worked in a library even.”
My chest tightened, and I reached over to grab his hand. “She had great taste in books.”
He laced his fingers through mine and smiled at me. “That she did.”
I squeezed his hand tight. “I’m sorry.”
He shook his head and tightened his grip on my hand too. “It’s been eight years now. I was twenty-six.”
“If you want to talk about what happened, I’d like to hear it, but if it’s too painful, I understand.”
His eyes welled with tears as he stared at me. “Fuck, darlin’.”
I didn’t know why, but I let go of his hand and scooted closer before wrapping my arms around his waist and hugging him. “You don’t have to say anything.”
His arms wound around me in an instant, and my heart swelled as he buried his head in my neck and breathed.
We sat like that for a few minutes in silence, and I heard the creak of the floorboards behind us a couple of times before it went away.
“Car accident,” he choked out. “I lost both my fiancée, Kelly, and my parents in one go. They were out getting snacks for a family movie night, and I was working late.”
I held him close, and he did the same. “That’s horrific. Did you have any other family to help you through it?”
“My sister was there. We grieved together. Kelly was her best friend. She respected my decision to move into the middle of nowhere, and I respected her decision to move to another country with her husband three years before the virus.” His voice cracked. “Haven’t heard from her since that first day, though.”
“I wish I could take that pain away.”
I knew there wasn’t much I could say to help the situation. What happened was tragic, but I couldn’t change it.
“Honestly, darlin’? This hug is the best source of pain relief I’ve felt in years.”
“I’ll hug you whenever you need it.” I held onto him until I found myself drifting to sleep in his arms.
“Shit, Calix! Just trade me for the blue property,” Nathan whined, and I stirred from my sleep.
Calix scoffed. “Not happening. I landed on it. It’s mine.”
“No fair!”
“Very fair, actually. It’s literally part of the game.”
“Micah usually trades with me.”
The chest my head laid on vibrated as Micah chuckled. “Sorry. Little preoccupied to play.”
“I know, and I’m jealous.” Nathan huffed as I shifted up and opened my eyes with a yawn.
“How long was I out?”
“Only an hour,” Micah whispered, keeping his arm around my shoulders, and I leaned back against him.
Calix and Nathan sat on the floor, a pillow under their bottoms, and played a board game.
“I love that game,” I gushed. “That’s awesome that you have it.”
Calix’s eyes lit up as he stared at me. “I love it too. My mom used to play with me every night. It was our favorite thing to do.”
“That’s the sweetest way to bond. My family and I had game nights growing up. After everything happened, we just kind of stopped.”
