The audacity.
So I hooked my credit card up to his account and told him to start downloading. He refused at first, but after I convincedhim to get one… well, it was a gateway drug.
Turned out Kieran was right. Rett was an addict.
He was just addicted to books, not drugs.
Amen.
The elevator dinged, and we got out at the end of the hall. Partway to the door, I noticed he wasn’t beside me anymore and glanced over my shoulder. He was standing there in the middle of the hall with the purple backpack over his shoulders.
“Pip?” I called, turning back.
His chest rose and fell with a deep breath as his hands wrung in front of him.
“What’s the matter?” I asked, folding his worrying hands into mine.
“Thank you,” he burst out. My lips parted to ask what for, but his words just kept on flowing. “Thank you for helping me in that alley two years ago. Thank you for pulling me out of that box and nursing me back to health.”
“Pip, I?—”
“Let me say this, Hiro.”
I nodded.
“I really love our new place and all the things you let me put inside it. I’m grateful to be seeing a doctor now, and even though I have a long way to go before I’m feeling better, I’m grateful for the chance. My shoes are comfortable. My clothes are soft. And I can see in so much detail. You changed my whole life, Hiro. You made it better than I could have ever hoped.”
Listen, we don’t cry here. Hell no.
“But I wanted to tell you that, above all the things you’ve been able to buy, what I am grateful for most are the things you’ve given me for free. Love. Safety. A place to belong. Thank you for living for me. For us.”
Anyone got a tissue?
Forget it, I’ll use him.
With a gruff sound, I yanked him off his feet and into my arms, squishing him against me, and rubbed my damp eyes against his T-shirt. After sniffling and another swipe, I raised my head. “You know how I feel about crying.”
“Does that mean you liked what I said?”
“If I liked it any more, it would be indecent.”
He smiled.
He even looked cute blurry.
“I really mean it,” he whispered.
I crushed him to me again, banding my arms around him as tight as I dared while swaying a little on my feet. Against his ear, I whispered, “I don’t read all those books like you. I’m not good with words or saying how I feel. Hell, I ran when we met. But it didn’t matter how far I ran or how close to death I got.”
Rett gasped and pulled back, balancing his hands on my shoulders. “What?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, remembering the mission I’d left him for. I was so fucked up about it that I was sloppy and nearly died. “Because it taught me something.”
“What did it teach you?” he asked softly.
“That maybe I wasn’t born to die after all. I was born to live. With you.”
His chin wobbled. “That’s better than anything I’ve ever read in a book.”
