Page 33 of Logan

We didn’t cry. Enough tears had already been shed today. I couldn’t even describe the emotions swirling through me as I held my brother for the first time in years. They weren’t all happy emotions, but they weren’t all negative ones, either.

Logan’s hand on my shoulder caught my attention, and I looked over at him without breaking the hug.

He silently mouthed a question toward me, asking me if I was okay.

I thought for a moment, then gave a small nod.

I wasn’t great, but I was okay. My brother accepted me, and seemed to have even made a place for me in his home.

That was enough for now.

CHAPTER 13

Clay

The sun had already setan hour ago as I walked the calm suburban streets that were becoming increasingly familiar. In the two weeks since I’d arrived at my brother’s, an evening walk had become my regular routine. I told myself it was in order to get to know the neighborhood around Jason’s house, but that was a lie.

It was my only excuse to get out of the house.

I’d been living with my brother and his husband for two weeks. Logan had left the same day he dropped me off, after making sure I would be okay, and I’d been settling in ever since. It felt like a year had passed since then, but also the blink of an eye at the same time. Each day seemed to drag on, yet when I looked back, I couldn’t believe so many had already passed.

I had been found, but I also felt more lost than ever. When I lived in San Francisco, every day had the exact same purpose. Make enough money to keep living until tomorrow. Now, without thatconstant motivator hanging over my head, I had no idea what to do.

The lap I took around the neighborhood lasted for about half an hour, depending on which path I chose that night. Turning onto Jason’s street, I could see his house in the distance, lit up from the inside with warm, happy light like a beacon summoning me back.

Jason didn’t rush me to do anything. He didn’t even ask me to pay rent. After getting me set up in the guest room, it had quickly been dubbed “my” room as if I owned it, and that had been that.

He didn’t push, but he also didn’t leave me alone.

He ran a successful construction company, so he was a busy man, but whenever he was home, I could hear him pacing back and forth outside my door every few minutes, like he kept forgetting I was there and needed to double check.

I appreciated it, especially on late nights when I woke up from a nightmare and the sound of his footsteps reminded me where I was.

The front porch was sturdy under my feet as I climbed up to the door of Jason’s house. There wasn’t a single creaky board or loose stone to trip me up.

Had Jason built it himself?

Probably.

The foundation was sturdy, and if it was an example of his company’s typical work, it was no wonder he was doing so well.

It still felt strange to open the front door with my own key. It had been given to me on my second day there, with a promise that Icould come and go as I pleased. So far, Jason had lived up to that promise, but it didn’t really matter.

Where would I even go?

Kent Island may have been my hometown at one point, but it was a stranger to me now. Just like with Jason, we hadn’t grown together, and had to rebuild our familiarity from scratch.

Once inside the house, I crept quietly toward my room, but was stopped by the sound of voices in the kitchen.

Jason and Patrick were there, speaking together in hushed tones as they cleaned up the dishes from dinner. I would have left them alone to their domesticity, but the sound of my own name caught my attention.

“We need to do something with him,” Patrick said, his voice barely audible over the clinking of plates and the rush of running water.

“Do what? He just got here. He needs time to get used to things.”

“He needs time, sure, but he’ll never get used to things if he just sits up in his room all day. Some days, I don’t think he even wakes up. That’s not healthy.”

I stepped back behind the shadow of the doorway to ensure they wouldn’t see me, even if they looked in my direction. That meant I couldn’t see what they were doing, but the clinking of plates suddenly stopped.

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