Page 46 of Forever

“Just keep being the homo painter. It’s fine.” What the fuck was I even saying?

“Okay.” He smiled. “Let’s do homo things.”

Brooklyn bent over laughing.

I was glad she was finally laughing again. But I did not love anything about this.

“What does homo mean?” Jacob asked. “And what’s tummy sticks? Is that like when we fight with swords?”

“It’s very much like sword fighting…” Nigel started.

“Nope,” Brooklyn said and lifted Jacob into her arms. “Time to go!” She laughed all the way down the front steps.

“Let’s go,” Nigel said and slapped my butt like Brooklyn had earlier.

Yeah, I hated this. But I loved seeing Brooklyn so happy.

Chapter 12

Friday

Brooklyn

I took a deep breath as I walked into the foyer of the Caldwell mansion. It was decorated very similarly to how it had been the last time I’d been to one of their Halloween parties. Fake blood oozed down the banister and cobwebs wrapped around the chandelier. And down the hall to the left, screams could be heard.

I’d been so in love with Matt that Halloween. But for some reason, all I could think about was the first time I’d ever stepped foot inside here. That party I attended with Felix and Kennedy. I’d had no idea the party would be here or I probably wouldn’t have agreed to come. I’d hated Matt. Loved, hated. It was definitely a fine line when it came to him.

But what I remembered best about that night was that I felt…hopeful. Hopeful for my future. And definitely a little scared. Especially when Rob pushed me into Matt’s dark room. My eyes wandered up the stairs.

And God, who was I kidding? I hadn’t hated Matt. I’d been so desperately in love with him. Yeah, stepping into his childhood home made me feel so freaking hopeful. Especially if I didn’t think about how that night ended.

“What are you thinking?” Matt asked.

“That I feel 16 again.” I smiled up at him.

And he smiled down at me.

“Well, there’s one thing I can promise about tonight. It won’t end the same as the last Halloween party we attended together.”

“I should hope not. I also hope it doesn’t end like that other party. The first time I was here.”

He winced. “I owe you a thousand apologies, Brooklyn.”

“For making me hide in the closet while you flirted with Wizzy? Mhm,” I said with a laugh.

“I’m sorry.” He kissed my forehead. “I’m sorry.” He kissed the tip of my nose and I laughed again. “I’m so sorry about all of it.” He placed a kiss on my lips.

“You are officially forgiven. Besides, before she showed up, it was one of the best moments of my life. Remember how I punched you because I thought you were a vampire?” That night really was crazy.

He tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “I remember every second.”

I was smiling so hard it hurt.

“Thanks for coming tonight. It means a lot to me.”

Standing here with him, it was easy to not be scared. I was doing my best to try and keep the thoughts in the back of my head where they belonged. We were safe. Jacob was safe. I put my arm in front of my stomach and then immediately dropped it. I had no idea why I kept doing that. “Thanks for being patient with me. I know the past couple weeks have been hard. I just…”

“Wanted to be home, I get it. I love that I’m a part of that. And like I said, nothing is going to happen tonight, because you’re not leaving my sight.”

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