Page 379 of Call Me Baby 2: Side B

lashes spilling ink across skin,

his hair a dark mess against the pillow.

Sleep steals the fight out of his face,

unclenches his jaw,

lips parting on a breath,

leaving him younger in the dark,

pretty in a way that feels private.

I trace the edge of his brow,

the bridge of his nose,

the dip beside his mouth.

He doesn’t wake,

and for one stupid second,

it becomes a stolen moment

where my heart forgets

all her bad habits.

And just beats.

For him.

“I asked for help,” I whisper in the night, smoothing my thumb across the crease between his brows. “It probably doesn’t matter.” I shrug, then really think about it. “Okay. Maybe it matters a little. But I said it. Out loud. To someone who could hear me.”

My throat tightens as I brush my knuckles across his cheekbone. “It’s your fault, you know,” I admit. “You make me want things, and now that I said it, I don’t know what to do.”

An exhale shakes out of me.

“I don’t want to be like your moms.

“I don’t want you taking care of me until there’s nothing left of you.”

His breath warms my wrist.

I try to get the words out through my tight throat. “I want to choose you, Drew.”

The night steals my confession.

Keeps it safe.

I inch closer to kiss between his brows⁠—

when a buzzing vibrates the bed.

I pause.

Then the vibration comes again.