When I turn back to the painting, my throat is suddenly thick with tears, as together, we sweep the finishing touch to the curve of my painted cheek.
“I did it.” Happiness washes through me. “I didn’t ruin it. I didn’t destroy it.”
I can’t look away from the fresh paint.
I snatch my hand away, before its shaking can smear the paint.
Phantom lowers the brush, balancing it on the palette.
His eyes are sparkling behind the mask.
“This is how you see me?” I ask.
Phantom signs:Sometimes.
He picks up a pencil and the sketchbook, before he writes in beautiful, calligraphic handwriting:
Penn
Perhaps,he’s dyslexic.
He drops the pencil.
“You want a pen?” I squirm on his knee, looking around for one.
Phantom points at his chest.
I still, looking up at him. “Is that your true name?”
An awe settles over me.
He has finally dared to lift his mask for me.
“May I call you by your real name?” Excitement rushes through me.
His smile is shy, but he nods.
“Penn.” Suddenly, I see the artistic Alpha who became best friends with his next-door neighbor hyper Beta, before shadowing him throughout school.
I imagine how wrecked Phantom must have been when that Beta’s house burned down and his best friend was returned but as a Companion.
I shouldn’t have judged Phantom for that.
I would have been terrified if Mars was taken away from me and I would have done anything to get him back.
Phantom forged himself into a warrior to become a SEAL; he did whatever he needed to in order to become the protector Joker needed.
How could Joker have missed how much he’s loved?
These two need to fucking talk.
Phantom’s eyes light at hearing his name on my lips. He caresses my hair.
I don’t think that I will ever want to stop saying his real name now. “You know, Penn, I can see how much you feel for me in every brushstroke of this painting.”
He nods.
“Look how many more paintings you’ve done of Jokes. How can he be a burden to you? Someone you blame for your scarring? An Omega who you bonded out of a sense of duty, and a Beta who you see as no more than a friend?”
