Page 42 of Well That Happened

And somehow, that makes me want to crawl into his lap and cry. Or kiss him again. Or both.

“I feel like I’m juggling fire.”

He chuckles. “You’re not. You’re just… in the middle of something big.”

I nod, heart thudding softer now.

“Thanks,” I murmur. “For not making this harder.”

His gaze warms. “I have other ways of doing that.”

My mouth drops open. “Did you just—”

He grins, grabs his coffee, and walks out without looking back.

Chapter Twelve

Caleb

I load the last pan into the dishwasher and slam it shut harder than I mean to.

It’s not even my pan.

Pretty sure it belongs to one of the freshmen who wandered in last week and made “protein lasagna,” which sounds exactly as cursed as it tasted.

The kitchen’s a mess. My planner’s buried under a pile of sticky notes. And I’ve got two exams coming up that I haven’t even started studying for.

It’s fine.

Totally fine.

I check my phone again.

One new message—from Mom.

Call your sister. She’s freaking out again. I can’t deal with this right now.

I stare at the text until the words blur.

Sierra’s seventeen. Brilliant. Stubborn. And spiraling again.

Every few months, it’s something new. Panic attacks. Missed school. This week it’s fights with Dad and threats to drop out. I’ve tried to help, from hundreds of miles away, but there’s only so much I can do from here—especially when my parents treatme like the emotional support golden retriever and not a twenty-two-year-old with his own crap to manage.

I rub a hand over my face, breathing slow.

I need to call her. Iwillcall her.

But not right now.

Not when my own head’s already spinning.

Because things have been different lately. With Rilee.

She’s not cold. Not distant. Just… careful. Measured. Like she’s trying not to tip her hand. And maybe I wouldn’t notice—if I hadn’t already tasted what it felt like when she let her guard down.

That night at her apartment?

I still think about it. The way she pulled me closer. The sound she made when I kissed her neck. How she saidyeswithout even saying it.

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