Page 87 of Every Hidden Truth

He smiled. “Say it again, Silas.”

And because I could deny him nothing, I said, “I love you.”

For a moment, his eyes went glassy, like he was going to cry, but then he blinked it away and beamed at me like I was the sun.Which was just ridiculous because he’d always been the sun. I was just a tiny piece of space debris alight in his orbit.

He said, “You have no idea what you do to me, do you?”

And, “You hit me like a storm, whipping through everything and leaving me in ruins.”

And, “You absolutely destroy me.”

That sounded violent and painful, and yet he was still smiling.

He said, “But then you put me back together, fitting the pieces in ways I never knew they could go.”

He said, “You look at me, and I feel real. You look at me, and you see me.”

He swallowed thickly and said, “You look at me, and I’m not invisible anymore.”

“Ben,” I croaked, but whatever else I might have said was lost as he smashed our mouths together.

He kissed me like a man dying in the desert and I was his oasis. He kissed me like he wanted to crack me open and crawl inside me. He kissed me like he loved me, and I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him back.

I craved him with every molecule in my body. I was his: heart, body, and soul. Even though he threatened to consume me until there was nothing left, I surrendered willingly. I’d give him everything.

“I love you,” he whispered into my quivering mouth, kissing me again and again until I was breathless. “Do you hear me, Silas? I love you.”

He spoke it like a promise, offering me the jagged shards of himself, and I took them with the utmost care. I fit the pieces inside myself, making me whole. Then it was my turn. I offered him my tattered, ragged heart, praying it was enough. And he cradled it in his hands, using my broken fragments to seal his own gaping wounds.

Warped and twisted, pieced together like a discombobulated tapestry, we fixed each other. We were bent and bruised, disfigured and damaged, but we were not ruined. Our scars didn’t make us weak; they made us fucking beautiful.

Words were cumbersome and unnecessary, so I tightened my hold on his neck as he half-carried, half-dragged me through the house. He climbed the stairs, kicked open my door, and planted me on the bed.

Crawling after me, he tucked the covers around us and yanked me into his body. He held me like he would never let me go, and I curled into him, wishing I could burrow inside his body and never leave.

We couldn’t stay here forever. Tomorrow was a new day with expectations and responsibilities. Life would move on.

But today? Today, we would lay in my bed. We would waste away under cotton sheets and lose ourselves, if only for a while. We would relish every kiss, every touch, and commit them to memory. Because this was forever ours.

We mapped each other’s skin, learning every path and trail. We explored and discovered until I knew his body like the back of my hand. It was the most exquisite type of torture, and we surrendered until there were no more secrets between us.

By the time the long rays of sun stretched across my bedroom floor with late afternoon light, we had each other memorized.

25

Underwater

Unknown: I know somethingyou don’t know. But it won’t take long until everyone else does too.

Stomach churning, I stared at the text as I sat in my idling truck. I’d parked in the lane behind Ben’s Impala, and he was already out of his car, back to me as he propped his ass on the hood. He hadn’t seen me yet, and I took the moment of solitude to reread the message I’d woken up to this morning.

Anxiety solidified in my gut like a rock, and I positioned my thumb to respond. But what was I supposed to say? I’d already told Unknown to fuck off, and they hadn’t. What elsewasthere to say?

And wasn’t a reaction exactly what they were looking for? Wasn’t that always what bullies—Boyt—wanted?

Dismissing the heavy foreboding skittering over my skin, I swiped away the message and climbed out of my truck. I’d woken this morning in a good mood, and I wasn’t going to let some mystery asshole—Boyt, Boyt,Boyt—ruin my day.

Ben must have heard my approach, because his head rose and he looked over his shoulder, a smile spreading over his face as our eyes met. I grinned back and closed the distance between us. With no preamble, I threw myself at him and smashed our mouths together.

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