He moves slow, like it takes everything in him just to crawl onto the mattress. He settles on his side next to me, and I reach behind to switch off the headboard lighting. I shift down until I’m lying flat, sinking into Matt’s glorious, perfect bed. For a minute neither of us moves. Neither of us speaks. His gaze is on me, mine on the ceiling.
Then he exhales—one long, broken breath, and slides toward me, his arm draping across my stomach like he’s done a thousand times before. His head rests on my chest, and I wrap an arm around him, fingers slipping into his hair.
Butterflies swirl inside me, waking a storm I thought had settled years ago.
I ignore it.
“You okay?” I whisper.
“I am now,” he murmurs.And God… the sound of his voice builds a lump in my throat. It’s so sad. So heartbreaking.
We lie there. Him and me. Me and him. Together.
Until his breathing evens out.
Until the room falls into a comfortable silence I haven’t felt in years, filling the lonely, empty space in my chest from just hours ago.
And it sucks. All of it.
This night. Nate dying. Seeing Matt crushed.
But it feels good to be here beside him.
My thoughts fade, the sounds of the city humming in the background, and eventually my eyes drift closed.
Chapter Eight
MATT
I stare blanklyout the window of my private plane, the hum of the engine keeping me in my thoughts. I’m rattled. Shaken. Every nerve shot to shit.
The police called from Cole’s phone a little before one in the morning. Cole had told them to call his Uncle Matt. They said Nate had collapsed and they were working on scene to resuscitate him. They called again thirty minutes later, letting me know Nate didn’t make it.
His grandmother, my aunt, was already on her way to take Cole home so he wouldn’t be alone.
Then I talked to Cole. Or tried to.
He was hysterical, choking on every word, crying so hard I could barely understand him. I’ve never felt someone else’s pain cut through me like that.
I’ve watched people I love fall apart before.
This was different.
This felt like someone was gutting me from the inside out.
Those few minutes on the phone with him were the worst of my life.
And I know they’re only the beginning.
I woke Jordan just before I left at six. She looked wrecked andbeautiful and exhausted in a way that fucked with my head. She sat up immediately, hair wild, tank top slipping off her shoulder, worry etched over her face.
I thanked her. Told her she could stay and sleep as long as she needed.
She was out like a light before I left.
Fuck. I don’t know what the hell I would’ve done if Jordan hadn’t come last night. I’m used to Jensen being a text away, a quick elevator ride to his door. I’m just… so damn grateful she was there.
I was a complete mess. That phone call broke me. I’ve never cried like that in my life. Even now, my throat tightens if I think about it too long.
