Page 11 of My Girl to Use

“I’m just resting,” I murmur.

“Mm-hmm.”

“I’ll know if anything changes.”

“I’m sure you will.”

I exhale slowly, my eyes burning as I try to keep them open. Just for a minute. Just until I’m sure he’s really asleep. Just…darkness.

???

I wake up to a smell. Warm. Rich. Familiar.

Food.

My eyes blink open slowly, my brain taking a second to catch up as I push myself up on my elbows. For a moment, I forget where I am. Then I hear it. A soft, happy coo. My head snaps toward the sound. Levi is in his swing, his tiny legs kicking slightly as he makes quiet, content sounds, completely relaxed.

My heart stutters.

“What…”

“And you’re awake.”

I look up. Jax is in my kitchen. Cooking. Like he belongs there. Like this is normal.

He glances over his shoulder at me, a small, easy smile pulling at his lips. “Hey.”

I stare at him, still trying to catch up. “What are you doing?”

“Making dinner,” he says simply, turning back to the stove. “Figured you’d be hungry.”

Dinner? How long did I sleep?My brows knit together. “You…just decided that?”

He shrugs slightly. “Seemed like a safe bet.”

Levi lets out another happy sound, and Jax glances over at him, his voice softening instantly. “Yeah, I know. You’re doing much better now.”

I notice the way he talks to him. The way Levi responds. And something in my chest shifts. It’s quiet. Unexpected.

I push myself up fully, still staring at him. “You stayed.”

He glances back at me again. “Told you I would.”

I don’t know what to say to that. So I don’t say anything. I just sit there and let myself linger in the moment for a second longer—the smell of food I didn’t cook, the sound of my brother happy, the sight of someone in my kitchen who isn’t leaving yet.

Yet. There it is. Even now, some part of me is already counting down.

And for the first time since all of this started, I don’t feel like I’m doing it alone.

Chapter Three

Jax

“You look like you just woke up in a different life.”

Her voice is still thick with sleep, a little confused, a little guarded, but there’s something softer there now too. I glance over my shoulder at her, taking in the way her long black hair falls messily around her shoulders. Her blue eyes are still adjusting, her whole body slower than before, like she finally got the rest she needed.

“Maybe I did,” I reply lightly, turning back to the stove. “Hungry?”