His eyes glisten, water in his lash line. He raises his arm and wraps it around my waist before tugging me into him. I practically tumble into his lap as I latch my arms around his shoulders and cup the back of his head.
JJ’s face remains in the crook of my neck as I drop my head and swirl my fingers into shapes over the skin above the neckline of his T-shirt. “Don’t give up,” I say softly. “There is still time.”
He squeezes me harder, and I listen to how fast his heart rattles inside his chest.
After a few moments, I pull away, feeling his arm slip from my back. I reach down and take his hand, attempting to tug us onto our feet, but he is literally twice my size. “Come,” I beckon towards the grass and lower to the ground, patting the space beside me. “Stargazing always helps to calm me down.”
JJ steps forward and lies beside me, both of our heads parallel to each other. I glance at him out of the corner of my eye. We lay there, our hands merely an inch apart. I reach out my finger and brush his, and I listen as he takes a deep breath.
Then I reach for his hand, giving it a light squeeze. I shouldn’t enjoy the way his hand fits against mine, but I do. It practically swallows mine whole.
For a moment, we both look up at the night sky, stars shining across our beautiful galaxy. It humbles me in a way because I always think there is so much out there that we don’t know about, why do I fret over the small things I can’t change?
“Tell me about her.” I smile, turning my head towards him. “If you want to.”
His eyes flick over the stars, and I notice that his tears have dried up and his chest has slowed down. I give his hand a quick squeeze again, to which he returns it, sending a zap of comfort to my heart.
“My dad has always been hard on me and my brother,” he says after a few moments. “In a good way, he wants the best out of us. But our mum, she just wants us to be happy. Whatever it may be that we do, she only wants us to be happy.”
I smile at him, but he doesn’t glance my way; his eyes continue to roam the night sky.
“She got me into ice skating, remember when I told you?”
“Of course,” I hum.
“But when it didn’t work out, she was never angry with me. She was just happy that I gave it a shot. She always came to my football games to cheer me on. When I wanted to start video production, she was always my first viewer.” He smiles at the memories. “And she was always so biased. I remember my first video was so crap but she told me it was amazing and how she wanted to show all her friends.”
My lips lift to a grin at his words. “Biggest fan.”
JJ turns to me this time, the light in his eyes beginning to show again. “Original fan club member.”
I chuckle gently. “I love her already.”
His throat bobs as he flicks his gaze to my eyes. “She always puts other people first, no matter her situation,” he carries on. “I like to think I took after that trait of hers, it’s one of my favourite things about her because she cares so much. If she had five pounds on her and someone else needed it, she’d give it away in a heartbeat, even if she needed it herself.”
“People like her are the best type of people,” I say sincerely.
JJ rolls onto his side, our bare knees brush, and I forget that I’m in nothing but a tiny crop top, shorts, and my dressing gown has come undone. But right now isn’t the time to care, not when this moment with him feels so raw and real.
I want to make sure that he’s okay. That he doesn’t have to go through this alone when he’s miles away from his family, when he feels like no one can relate to him. I might not be able to, but I want to support him regardless.
“Are you close with your brother?”
JJ hesitates. “We’re not super close because we’re very different, but I still love him. We’re just not best friends.”
“I get that.”
“Thank you,” he tells me sincerely. “For being with me.”
“I’d never leave you out here by yourself.” I focus on his silver nose ring because those eyes are too much for me right now. “I’d never want you going through this alone.”
JJ squeezes my hand again, and I glance up into his eyes. I notice how close we are as I roll over. Noses merely inches apart from one another as we lie against the cool grass and listen to the silence of this small town.
Peaceful.
“I wish I could be with them,” he admits.
“Could you go out to visit?”
