Page 71 of Faron
“Then we find her.”
She looked up at that—really looked at me—and something fragile cracked in her expression. “I didn’t want to involve you. But I can’t do this alone.”
“You’re not alone,” I said, my voice steady. “Not anymore.”
And I meant it.
Later that night,I found Blue on the back deck of our house, barefoot in my hoodie, her legs tucked up under her like she belonged there.
She did.
She looked up from her mug. “How’s Aponi?”
“She’s remembering more. Things she didn’t know she knew.”
Blue nodded slowly. “That’s how trauma works. It locks things away until you’re strong enough to handle them.”
I sat beside her, close enough to feel her warmth. “What if remembering only makes it worse?”
“Then you don’t do it alone.” She slid her hand into mine. “You fight through it. With the people who love you.”
I turned to her. Really turned. Let meseeher.
The woman who stitched herself back together with fire and grit. The woman who made space for me, even when I didn’t know I needed it.
“I never believed in fate,” I said. “But if there’s such a thing… it led me to you.”
Her eyes shimmered. “You didn’t need fate. You just needed a reason.”
“I neededyou,” I said. And then, quieter, “And I think… I always did.”
She set her mug down and leaned into me, her head leaning on my shoulder. “Then don’t waste another minute.”
So I didn’t.
I pulled her into my arms, and the world got quiet. Just her heartbeat and mine, syncing up like they were always meant to.
She kissed me.
Soft. Slow. Like, there was no rush.
But when I pulled her onto my lap, the kiss changed.
My hands slid into her hair, drawing her closer. Her lips parted, and everything in me unraveled—every defense, every scar, every part I kept buried. She kissed me like I was hers. Like she’d waited her whole damn life to bring me home.
I lifted her into my arms and carried her inside. The back door creaked shut behind us, and the world faded until there was nothing left but her.
I set her down in our room, the one I’d built with her in mind even before I knew it. Her hoodie slipped from her shoulders, revealing bare skin beneath. I scooted Bear off the bed.
“You’re not wearing anything under this,” I rasped.
She smiled, slow and wicked. “Didn’t plan on needing it.”
My pulse kicked hard. I reached for her, but she caught my wrist and pulled me to the bed.
“Let me,” she whispered.
And she did.
