“No. I wasn’t sleeping. Come in. I want to go back to my blanket.”
I climb into bed again, because there’s been an unending chill in my bones since I watched Mako plummet to his death.
Tonight was…devastating.
Gray looks pretty devastated himself. He sinks on the edge of the bed, angling his body toward me. “I can’t believe Mako is gone.”
“I know.” The knot in my throat threatens to choke me. “We need to talk about—”
He cuts me off with a soft groan.
“I’m sorry,” he says, so quiet I barely hear him.
“For what?”
“For being a prickhole to you all day.”
“No. I’m the one who’s sorry.”
I scoot closer to him. I want to wrap my arms around him, but I’m worried he’ll push me away. I settle for holding his hand.
The lamplight casts shadows on his face, emphasizing the dark circles under his eyes. His grief hangs heavy in the air. I need to tell him what happened with Mako and Hawkins, but he has his own stuff to unload first.
“You should’ve told me about your parents.” His voice is low.
“I know. I was afraid. I didn’t want you to hate me for what they did.”
He searches my face. “You honestly believed I’d hate you? That I would view you any differently if I knew?”
I blink. “You don’t?”
“Fuck, Wren, of course not. You’re not responsible for your parents’ crimes.”
“But…the way you reacted in the Temple. You looked so disgusted…so angry…”
“I was angry because you kept it from me. But I could never hate you.” His throat works as he swallows. “I love you.”
The confession lingers between us.
“I’m sorry if I made you feel like I blamed you for what your parents did. Because I don’t.” He cups my cheek, his thumb gently stroking. “If I’m being honest, I never spent much time thinking about the Tin Block Traitors or obsessing about them, like some of the other Ridge survivors.”
“Like Luisa’s dad.”
“Seth needs someone to blame,” Gray says simply. “And it’s easy to channel all that rage to the Mods who betrayed us.”
“But they’renotthe ones to blame?” I ask, confused.
“They deserve some of it, yes. But so do the bombers, the pilots, the Command soldiers. The Company is responsible for what happened. Your parents were just cogs in a war machine.” His hand slides into my hair, threading through the thick strands. “I could never hate you,” he whispers, resting his forehead against mine.
I drag in a trembling breath and finally wrap my arms around him. As he holds me, I feel the steady beating of his heart against my breasts and the warmth of his palm stroking my lower back.
I think I love him, too.
No, I know I do.
It’s not quite what it was with Cross, but it’s there, and it’s real.
I never gave the idea much thought, but if you’d asked me before tonight, I would’ve told you it was impossible to love two people at once. Now I’m not so certain. Because maybe the heartcanhold space for more than one love.
