“Want to make you feel good,” I said. “No more tears, okay?”
She draped herself over me and nodded, her hair brushing my shoulders. “You said you won’t hurt me, and I believe that. But I won’t hurt you either, Grayden. I want to keep making you happy.”
“Just be with me, and you will.”
She was killing me. Tearing me down to my base elements and building me back up again. Before coming back to Silver Ridge, I hadn’t expected much from the remainder of my life. I’d had small hopes. Like finding solace and peace, having a few genuine friendships. My art. Some kind of relationship with my siblings.
But with Piper, I felt like I had a shot at my wildest hopes coming true.
FORTY-TWO
Grayden
Something poked my shoulder.
“Grayden? Hey, are you awake yet?”
I opened one eye and saw Ollie peering down at me. He poked me again, this time on my forehead.
“Ow.”
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
Making a sound halfway between a laugh and a groan, I sat up on the couch. “Good morning. Did you sleep well?” I asked.
“Yeah.” He bounced on his toes. “Did you?”
“Until about two minutes ago, yep.”
“My mom’s still sleeping. Her alarm hasn’t gone off yet, but sometimes I get up before her. Then I saw you out here.”
I braced myself for more questions. What was I doing here? Why had I spent the night?
But Ollie seemed to be taking it in stride. “Hey, do you wanna see the chemistry kit Uncle Callum bought me at the museum in Denver?”
“He—heck yeah. That sounds awesome.”
“Were you going to say hell? You can say that around me. It’s okay.”
“Right, I almost forgot how mature you are.”
While Ollie ran to his room, I stopped by the bathroom. Despite the fact that I’d been up late with Piper, and we’d had a difficult conversation, the guy in the mirror wore a happy smile.
I started the coffee in the kitchen. Ollie talked me through the detailed instructions of his science kit, which seemed to be focused on making slimy stuff that would gross out adults.
“Should we make some breakfast for your mom?” I asked.
“Yeah, she would like that. She’s always in a rush in the mornings.”
“What would she like to have?”
He put on a thoughtful face. “Probably chocolate chip pancakes. With chocolate syrup on top.”
“Really? Your mom’s big on chocolate for breakfast?”
“Loves it.”
I felt that huge grin on my face again. “Okay. We’d better get started.”
