“Cotton Candy?” Mom asks, bursting into laughter. “That’s cute. Now this one,” she says, holding up a piece of quartz.
I tune her out, tugging on Landon’s hand. In all reality, I just want to get him alone to make sure he’s okay, so I lead him straight to my bedroom.
When we walk into the room and I close the door behind me, he gasps.
“What?” I ask, turning to look at him.
His eyes roam the space, and I take it in from his point of view. There are paintings all over the walls, some of which I did as a kid. Others I did after breaking things off with Lincoln. Mom hung them all after I moved out. Her little shrine to her favorite child, she called it. I’d rolled my eyes when she said it. Doesn’t count when I’m heronlychild.
“When did you paint these?” Landon asks, stepping closer and looking over them one by one.
“How do you know I did?”
Landon levels me with a glare. “Come on, Lovebug. I know your colors when I see them.”
My heart slams against my rib cage. “Oh.” I swallow down the lump in my throat, chest aching. “Well, I did this one when I was about twelve, I think,” I say, gesturing to the one he’s standing in front of. “This room kind of tells the story of my life. Over here.” I gesture to the left wall. “Those were young me. Maybe four or five. Mom has them hung in chronological order.”
“What about this one?” Landon asks, pointing at one that’s a muddled mix of gray and blue so dark it’s almost black. “It feels sad.”
“That’s because it is. It’s the last painting I did before Lincoln finally took my spark away completely, and I stopped painting.”
He takes my hand, squeezing my fingers between his. “I’m sorry.”
I shake my head. “Don’t be. It was a long time ago. Besides, I’ve purged him now.”
“What about this one?” Landon asks, gesturing to one that looks like the sunrise. Orange and pink and yellow, streaked and layered over one another.
“This was the first painting I did after I broke up with Lincoln.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Landon says softly, hand hovering in the air like he’s thinking about touching it.
“I felt really happy when I realized I didn’t have to lose myself to him. That it wasn’t worth it.” I laugh. “Guess I kind of did anyway.”
Landon faces me, cupping my cheek in his big hand. “Not true, Lovebug. You didn’t lose yourself. You justprotectedyourself.”
I nod slowly. “Until you and Ben came along, and I realized I didn’t need to with you.” I clear my throat. “I didn’t bring you in here to talk about me, though. I brought you in here to check on you.”
“Oh. I’m okay,” he says, searching my eyes.
“Are you sure?”
The smile that spreads across his face is breathtaking. Prettier than any painting I could ever conjure up, and for once, I don’t even have a color to describe it. “I’m sure. Your mom is kind of amazing.”
I grin. “She’s really something else, but I love her.”
“You should.” His tone is wistful, almost a little sad. “Fuck, I hope my mom takes things well.”
“What are you going to tell her?” I ask softly, leading him to the bed so we can sit down.
He drops beside me, clasping his hands in his lap. “Well… I think just that I’m falling in love with two amazing people.”
My throat goes dry, and I have to swallow a few times before I can speak. “So no big sexuality coming-out thing?”
He shrugs. “I don’t really know what I am. I mean… I’ve been attracted to people of different genders and stuff, and then you, so…” He shrugs again. “I don’t really know what that makes me. Ben said the label wasn’t important.”
“Ben’s right,” I say, taking his hand. “At the end of the day, the label doesn’t really matter. You’re mine. And you’re Ben’s. We’re each other’s. Maybe that’s the only important part.”
There’s a knock on the door, then it’s being pushed open, and Ben is stepping into the room. “Hey, you two.”
