Page 214 of Let Me In

Then the trees begin to thin.

One by one, they fall away, trunks spreading out like open hands until suddenly—

There it is.

The ridge.

The clearing breaks open into sky and valley and light. Green spills out below us in every shade, stretching wide and full and endless. And the wind up here is soft—cool against my cheeks, warm against my chest. It smells like pine and sun-warmed stone and something that feels like home.

I stop without meaning to.

Cal pauses beside me, silent.

And then—he moves.

No announcement. No grand gesture.

Just a quiet kneel, unfolding the blanket from where he’d tucked it under his arm. He spreads it over the flat rock that catches the most sun, smoothing each corner with quiet care. It’s not just a blanket. It’s a place. A space he’s making for us. And it feels like being chosen.

Then he looks up at me.

“Come here, little one.”

His voice is soft. Rough with something I can’t name.

I go.

I always go.

He sits first. Legs long, hands braced behind him.

I lower beside him, uncertain for a second where to fit.

But Cal fixes that too.

He tugs me close. One arm around my shoulders, the other resting across my thigh like he means to keep me there.

And I let him.

I lean into his side, my head tucked beneath his chin.

The wind combs gently through the grass. Cleo curls up nearby. Luca flops down with a grunt and a huff, his chin resting on his paws like he’s settled in for the long haul.

Cal’s thumb strokes slow circles against my arm.

And in that hush—where nothing aches and nothing asks—I feel it again.

Not the fear.

Not the fight.

Just this.

This quiet.

This choice.

This day that’s finally ours.

---