Page 90 of Forever Cursed

The hum of the air-conditioning fills the room. If it were just me, I would have the fan going as well, just for the white noise. Instead, I have Chrissy and her small intakes of air soothing me to sleep. When I close my eyes, worry doesn’t fill my mind and settle in my bones. For once, it’s love, and it starts to mend all the cracks that formed over the years.

The bed shifts when the sun rises. I groan sleepily, not ready to wake up. A pair of lips press into my temple, and her words float into my ear.

“Keep sleeping. I’ll be right back.”

I grumble an incoherent response, and Chrissy snickers.

She leaves the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

I reach for my phone to check the time and groan again. It’s 8:00 a.m., and I’ve been slacking on my morning runs. My palms meet my eyes as I try to wake myself up. If it were up to me, I would sleep until noon, but Coach would have my ass if he knew I’d been skipping my workout routine.

So, I climb out of bed and change into a pair of black athletic shorts and a black sleeveless tank. Looking in the mirror, I ruffle my hair to make it seem like it’s a casual look and not because I just climbed out of bed. When I step into the hall, I hear Chrissy talking quietly. I peer into the living room as I head into the kitchen, and I smile when I see she’s talking with whom I assume to be her mother on a video call.

As they talk, I grab my shaker bottle and fill it with milk and a scoop of my favorite chocolate protein powder. As I shake it, I walk toward the blonde sitting on my couch, making sure I don’t appear on her phone screen.

Her eyes light up when she sees me. I want to bend down and kiss her head, but I’m not sure if she’s ready for her mother to see me. If she wants her mom to know that her daughter has been spending the night at a guy’s house.

Chrissy holds the phone to her chest and lowers her voice. “Do you want to say hi?”

My stomach roils with nerves, but I nod and give her a genuine smile.

Raising the phone again, Chrissy looks at her mom and blushes. “Mom, ready to meet Rome?”

“Yes!” Her mom responds without hesitating, and my smile grows.

Chrissy scoots down the couch so I can sit next to her. I wave at the camera and grin at the woman who looks just like her daughter.

“Hi,” I say, sounding shy.

“Oh my goodness, those cheeks!”

“Oh, here we go,” Chrissy sighs.

“I just want to squeeze them!”

“Mom!” Chrissy scolds, and I chuckle in response.

“It’s Faye, right? I’m Rome,” I say through a hint of laughter.

“Oh, trust me. My husband and I know who you are?—”

“Is that Rome?” a man calls off camera.

Faye looks off-screen and gestures for the man to make an appearance. The first thing I notice is how kind his eyes are. They’re dark blue and smooth, almost appearing matte. He has a few deep-set wrinkles in his brow, most likely the result of raising a troublesome set of twins.

“You look different compared to the photos we’ve seen.”

“Ethan,” Faye mumbles and slaps his arm.

With a chuckle, I say, “I recently cut my hair. The tangles were a bit too much to manage.”

“Oh, we knowallabout tangles,” Ethan teases, and Chrissy clicks her tongue.

“These curls came from one of you. I don’t want to hear it.”

Faye’s attention is locked on me while her husband and daughter go back and forth. We offer one another a smile, and a wave of pride crashes through me.

I’m not a bad guy. I’m not perfect, but I’m not bad. I have trauma, anxiety, and fear of losing people I love, and that fear overwhelms me most days. Chrissy is helping me heal from that part of my past though. Her love and empathy are the reason she’s on my couch. She’s shown me time and time again that I can trust her.

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