“I felt like him when I was lost. I didn’t know where I was or which way to go.”
My breath catches — this is the first time he’s talked about this part of his kidnapping — but I keep my expression neutral, not wanting to spook him. “Like Garrett?”
“Lost in the dark. Not knowing how to get home. Scared.” His signs are small, hesitant. “But then you found me. Like Kayley found Garrett. You helped me find my way home.” He looks directly at me now, his dark eyes serious. “Like Kayley helps Garrett.”
I have to blink back tears. “Oh, sweetheart. I’m so glad I could help.”
“Garrett is blind, but Kayley doesn’t care. She sees him anyway.” His hands pause, then continue. “You saw me. Even when I don’t talk, you still see me.”
I pull him into a hug before I can think better of it, and he comes willingly, wrapping his arms around my waist and squeezing tight.
“I will always see you, always.”
We stay like that for a long moment, the movie playing in the background, the lights casting gentle shadows on the blanket walls around us. This is what Maria meant. This right here is me giving him back pieces of his childhood. The ability to feel safeenough to be vulnerable. To trust someone enough to share what he’s feeling.
A soft knock on the fort’s entrance — well, the chair at the entrance that is — makes us both jump.
“Permission to enter the fortress?” Basili’s voice is warm with amusement.
Emmanuel immediately pulls away from me and scrambles to the entrance, pulling back the blanket to reveal his father crouched outside. He’s still in his work clothes but his tie is loosened, and his jacket has been discarded somewhere.
“Chloe built a fort!” Emmanuel signs excitedly. “We’re watching Quest for Camelot!”
Basili’s eyes find mine over Emmanuel’s head, and there’s something soft in his expression that I haven’t seen before. Gratitude.
“That’s pretty impressive.” He peers inside, taking in the lights, pillows, and general coziness of our setup. “Think there’s room for one more?”
Emmanuel’s face lights up as he motions for Basili to join us. The love between the two makes my heart ache. Basili reaches out and ruffles his son’s hair before crawling inside.
It’s almost comical watching a man of his size fold considerably to fit through the entrance and try to navigate the low-hanging blankets. Or it would be if I’m not suddenly hyperaware of exactly how small this space is about to become with him in it.
He settles in next to me — because of course he has to, since there’s not much room for the three of us in here. Suddenly, the fort feels about three sizes smaller. His shoulder brushes mine as he adjusts his position, and when he settles, his thigh is settled against mine, and I have to resist the urge to scoot away.
That would be too obvious. And immature. And would definitely let him know that his proximity affects me.
Which it absolutely does not.
Liar,my brain argues.
Emmanuel, oblivious to my internal crisis, rearranges himself to lie down in front of us, closer to the TV screen. This gives him a better view of the movie but also leaves me and Basili sitting side by side against a mountain of pillows, our arms and legs pressed together.
“Comfortable?” Basili asks in a hushed voice, leaning over toward me.
“Fine,” I manage, keeping my eyes locked on the screen where Kayley is currently arguing with Garrett about the best route through the forest.
“You sure? You seem a little tense.”
I risk a glance at him and immediately regret it. He’s watching me with amusement, clearly enjoying my discomfort.
“I’m not tense.”
“No?” He shifts slightly, and somehow the movement brings us even closer together. “Because your shoulders are practically shrugged all the way to your earlobes.”
“Maybe I’m just not used to sharing my fort with unexpected guests,” I whisper back.
“Your fort?” He grins widely. “I think my son would argue it’s his fort too.”
“Fine. Our fort. The point is, you’re the interloper here.”
