Page 77 of Love is Blind

“That ain’t too clear. Birdie’s record is bleached, and Wiz didn’t get much on this guy. We know it’s all drug related, though.”

I go on to tell him everything. From the shit with Oreo to all that Wiz discovered while chatting up the landlord. Then I share what Angel said to me right before he walked away.

That part actually makes my stomach turn.

I really fucked up. If this Ralphie guy is looking for Birdie and has the guards in his pocket, all he has to do is check the visitor’s log and that will lead him to me.

Toher.

Which means I’ve got to get to him first.

I have to catch the fucking phantom. How’s that for fucking irony?

I lower my head into my hands.

“What the fuck did I do?” Peeling my hands away from my face, I meet Maverick’s gaze. “Mav, this girl has me so fucking turned up I don’t know who I am anymore. I don’t drink. I don’t crush pills. I don’t even want to. I’m content laying in that ratty bed with her in my arms and just this morning, I started thinking about kids…” My voice trails and I comb my fingers roughly through my hair. “Kids, man,” I choke, shaking my head. “I knew the second I laid eyes on her she was going to be my new addiction and I was right.”

“You’re not addicted to her, asshole. You’re in love with her.”

That last sentence hits me like a punch to the gut and catches me completely off guard. My first instinct is to tell him he’s crazy, that he’s got it all wrong. How can you love someone you barely know? But when I open my mouth, I can’t bring myself to say those words.

My mind flashes back to two nights ago when I picked up Birdie from Holly and Maverick’s. I thought I’d grab her, and we’d get out of there, but we wound up staying. Mav cracked open a couple of beers and Birdie and Holly took down a bottle of wine. Then, in typical Burnside fashion, Mav started dancing with Holly in the kitchen. I stood there, leaning against the counter, a sense of déjà vu washing over me as I watched Maverick spin Holly under his arm, bringing her closer. He wrapped his arms around her and buried his face in the side of her neck. Holly’s eyes caught mine from over Maverick’s shoulder.

“Hey Ghost,” she called. I inwardly groaned knowing before meeting her gaze. She flashed me a cheeky smile and said, “I’m just saying, life is short, and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed. You got it in you to dance, you dance.”

Her words were a spin on the ones I once told her. Back then I was encouraging her to see what was right in front of her. The love and happiness that were at her fingertips. All she had to do was give in and she did.

But like I’ve said before, and I’ll say it until I die, they aren’t the rule. Holly and Maverick are the exception and the rest of us can’t escape the misery that’s become our lives—at least not so easily. We can’t change the past. Can’t rewrite the hell.

If we want a sliver of what they share, we gotta find a way to move forward. We gotta make the hole smaller. Find something that plugs all that matter with joy.

I tore my eyes away from Holly and dragged in a deep breath as my gaze slide to the other side of the kitchen island where Birdie say, bopping her head to the music. I remember thinking how badly I wished she weren’t blind. It was the first time the thought crossed my mind since I had met her, and I knew why. I wanted her to see me, to look me in the eye and see all the fucking pain and misery. The torment and the torture. If she could see it, then maybe she’d run.

Maybe she’d stand a fucking chance because I knew that night in Maverick and Holly’s kitchen, I was never going to push her away.

She was mine.

Love is treasure, but so is peace—finding both has to be some kind of gift from above.

I pushed myself out of the stool, walked around the island and took her hands in mine. Pulling her down from the stool, I set her on her feet.

“What are you doing?” she asked.

I searched her eyes, studying her expression. I waited for some sign of fear, but all I got was blind trust.

“I don’t dance,” I said hoarsely, still trying to understand what exactly I was doing.

She smiled at me and I swear I felt the hold in my heart actually get smaller.

“Neither do I,” she whispered as she tilted her chin and flashed me a brilliant smile. “Two left feet and blind, remember?”

I leaned closer to her and brought my hand to her cheek.

“Yeah, I remember.” I forced a swallow and pulled her flush against me. “Let’s dance anyway.”

After all, life is short, and tomorrow isn’t guaranteed.

She didn’t say another word as I wound my arms around her waist. Lifting her arms, she wrapped them around the back of my neck and started to sway with me.

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