Page 71 of Fault Line

I wakeup beside her the next morning, my heart feeling lighter than it has in a long time. I can’t resist smiling as I watch her sleep, her dark hair splayed out on the pillow, lips slightly parted.

I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, and the thought of that is terrifying.

But it’s also exhilarating, knowing how much I want her—to hold her, to be with her, to go through this phase of life with her by my side. And it feels really fucking good to know we’re on the same page now.

I gently shake her awake, and she opens her eyes, smiling up at me. “Good morning, baby,” I say, pressing a kiss to her temple.

“Good morning.” She stretches like a cat, curling into a ball at my side, and then nuzzling up against my neck. “So, what’s the plan for today?”

“I thought we could go see the lighthouse at Bluewater Cape,” I say, combing my fingers through her hair. “It’s only about a half-hour drive from Amber Isle.”

“I haven’t been there in years,” she says, her voice lighting up. “I used to beg my parents to take us when Sof and I were younger.”

“Yeah, I stumbled upon it freshman year when I was at Lookout Point. I spotted it from the car, and then I went back there on my own the next weekend. The views from the top are fucking incredible.”

She pulls back, waggles her brows. “Lookout Point, huh?”

I run a ragged hand through my hair, a wide grin pulling at my lips. We’re in bed together the morning after we decided to give things a real shot, and she’s teasing me about going to a notorious make-out spot. This is better, lighter and sweeter, than anything I could’ve imagined for us.

“Oh, come on,” I tease. “Didn’t you grow up in Boyer?”

“And?”

“I’m sure even the illustrious Kaia Karras has been to Lookout Point a time or two.”

“Yeah, when I was, like, sixteen and still trying to hide from my aunt.”

“Your aunt?”

“Yeah, Thalia,” she says, her tone melancholy. “I lived with her for a few years, just so I could finish up high school here. My parents moved to Greece after Sof graduated, and I was kinda backed into a corner.”

“Ah, okay. So, you haven’t been back to Bluewater since you were a kid?”

“Nope.” She gives me the tiniest hint of a smile. “But, you know, I do have a lot of homework to catch up on still and—”

“Karras, come on.” I take her chin in my hands, tilting her gaze up to meet mine. “You can take one day off.”

“A whole day?”

“Give me at least the rest of the morning.” I press a kiss to her forehead. “I’ll make you lunch and drop you back off when we’re done, okay?”

“Yeah, okay.”

Once I’m ready, I swing by Kaia’s apartment so she can do the same. Then we hop back into my car. On the short drive over, she points out the exit for her old house and opens up a little bit more about her aunt.

Apparently, the two of them were never quite close, not until Thalia became her last resort. Kaia says she enjoyed their time living together, but they haven’t kept in touch nearly as much since she went off to Coastal.

As we make our way up the lighthouse, we continue our conversation, and I find myself opening up to her as well. I tell her about my dad, his affair, and the mandatory monthly dinners he forces me to attend. And she tells me about her strained relationship with her parents and her sister, who she’s been avoiding for a while now.

“You know,” she says. “I might finally let Sof come visit me in a couple of weeks, just to get her off my back. But I may need you around as a buffer.”

“You got it,” I say without hesitation. “And in return, you can be mine the next time my dad comes into town.”

As we reach the summit, I feel lighter somehow. Weightless. The view from up here is nothing short of breathtaking, the sky painted with hues of red and orange as the sun rises over the water.

It’s fucking golden up here. Iridescent.

The ocean stretches out before us, vast and unending, and for a moment, it feels like we’re the only two people in the world. I turn to Kaia, noticing the way the morning light enhances her sharp features. The wind catches her hair, sending dark strands of it flying around her face.

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