A small laugh escapes me again. I hate it. I love it. I don’t know what to do with it.
From the patio, Kai calls, “Harlow!”
I flinch, just a little. I hate that Grayson notices. I see it in the way his gaze sharpens for half a second, like he clocked the reaction and filed it away, and then he looks away, giving me dignity.
He only says, “Better go before he sends a search party.”
“Yeah,” I murmur.
Before I move, I catch myself looking back.
“Thanks,” I say.
Grayson looks faintly startled. “For what?”
“For being normal,” I tell him, because it’s the truest compliment I can offer.
His mouth twitches. “Don’t spread rumors.”
I almost smile as I head outside.
The patio is warmer, sunlight soft on my skin. The combination of fresh air and space helps—but it doesn’t fix everything. Kai appears at my side like a shadow, eyes scanning me like I’m a perimeter he has to defend.
“Everything okay?” he asks.
“Yes,” I say.
His eyes narrow. “Did someone say something?”
“No.” Then, because honesty is safer than letting Kai invent a conspiracy, I add, “Grayson offered to fake an emergency if I needed to leave.”
Kai’s gaze snaps across the patio until he finds him. Grayson is leaning against the doorframe talking to Asher, looking more relaxed out here. Kai’s jaw works. Then he says, carefully, “Good.”
I blink. “Good?”
“Good that he offered,” Kai says, like it costs him to admit.
I stare at him. “Are you approving of your teammate being helpful?”
Kai’s expression stays blank. “Don’t make it weird.”
I huff a laugh. “You’re the one who makes everything weird.”
Kai’s mouth twitches. “Okay. Food.”
My body tenses on reflex, because that word comes with history and hospital bracelets and my mom’s careful voice and Kai’s furious silence when he found out about Tyler.
I freeze for half a second, and my brother doesn’t miss it.
His tone shifts to something softer, more careful. “Not…as a rule. Just—have you eaten today? I don’t want you getting shaky.”
It’s still Kai. Still vigilant, but it’s not a command. It’s a check-in.
“I’m okay,” I say, and it’s a half-truth.
Kai nods once. “Do what you can.”
That, somehow, makes it easier to work with.
