I almost roll my eyes. “Look at me.” This time he doesn’t fight against it or me, and he raises his gaze. “You have food and water beside your bed. You prioritized eating and drinking, even when you didn’t have the energy to get up. You have clean clothes. Sure, they’re in baskets, but even if you didn’t get them put away, you washed them. They’re right there. That’s amazing.”
“It doesn’t feel amazing.”
“No, I’d imagine it doesn’t. But you found a system that works for you. Come here, sweetheart.”
He stumbles his way to me, then presses himself against my chest. My hands land on his back and rub circles there as I hold him to me. I hold him until he relaxes, until I’m supporting most of his weight.
Turning my head to bury my nose in his hair, I inhale a deep breath. “Do you want to start packing, and I’ll take your sheets down?”
He sighs. “Yeah, that’s fine.”
“Perfect.” But he doesn’t step away, and I don’t let him go.
There will be time for him to pack, and there will be time for the sheets to get washed. Right now, he needs this.
And fuck, I do too.
Thebackseatofmy truck is full of clothes and photos. For now, it was all Theo wanted to bring.
We’re coming into Silverpine now, and I’m so ready to be done driving. Theo stayed awake much longer this time, but now he’s asleep on my shoulder, his fingertips resting on my palm.
He spent the better part of an hour playing with my hand, running his fingers over my palm, and touching my wrist. I’m not sure why, but it seemed to bring him comfort, or at least soothe him.
His movements got slower and slower until eventually they stopped altogether, and his weight slumped against me. Now, as I glance down at him, my heart’s like a battering ram in my chest. Even though I can’t fucking wait to get out of this truck and get my ass into bed, I can’t help but wish I didn’t have to lose this connection with Theo.
I pull into the driveway at home, and almost like Theo senses it, he stirs, his fingers flexing against my palm before he sits upright and rubs at his eyes.
“We’re here,” he mumbles.
“We are. I’m ready for bed.”
“What time is it?”
I glance at the dash. “Just after midnight.”
“Was I asleep for a long time? I’m sorry.”
“No. Just a little over an hour, but even if you were, you don’t need to be sorry.”
We sit in silence for a second, and when I kill the engine, he turns to look at me. “I wanted to thank you.”
I can barely make out his eyes in the dark, so I turn on the dome light. He squints, and I can’t resist smiling. “What are you thanking me for?”
Waving a hand around, he shrugs. “Everything. For helping me. And for, you know… Not making me feel like I fucking suck at life.”
He seems to really like when I touch him, so I brush my thumb along his jaw, and just like I figured he would, he sighs and leans into it. “You don’t suck at life. You’ve just had… harder circumstances. That’s all.”
“Well,” Theo says with a sigh. “Thank you anyway.”
“You’re welcome anyway.”
He cracks a smile that has heat flooding my body. His smiles are so hard-won that anytime I get one, it makes me want to jump for joy.
“Are you ready to go in?” I ask.
Theo nods.
After I turn the light back off, we get out of the truck and head into the house. “Hey,” he whispers when we walk inside. “Do you think I can see Molls tomorrow?”
