Page 29 of Let it Sizzle
"Thank you," I whisper.
He jerks his chin in that way he does when emotions get too big for him. "Go find your guy. Because you got one of the good guys. I could see the love in his eyes for you."
“What about you?”
“I’ll talk to him later.”
I don’t waste a second. I race for the door, my heart pounding in my chest.
Because now, finally, finally... I know exactly what I’m fighting for. And this time, I’m not running away.
I’m running straight toward it. Straight towardhim. But first I need to finish something.
Chapter 10
Levi
I should have known she’d find me.
I sit at the edge of the lake, the same spot we used to sneak off to when we were kids, the same place where the world felt small enough that maybe, just maybe, we could outrun all the bad shit waiting at home. My boots dig into the dirt, my forearms resting on my knees, and I stare out over the black water like it might have answers for me. But the only thing I feel is hollow. Raw. Like I already lost something I never even had the right to claim.
The crunch of footsteps behind me makes my shoulders go rigid. For a second, I brace for Byron, coming to throw another punch just to finish what he started. But then I hear it—her breathing. That soft, quick rhythm that's so familiar it cuts right through every defense I have left.
I turn, and there she is.
Serena.
Standing a few feet away, clutching something tight against her chest, her eyes wide and shiny like she’s terrified and brave at the same time. She’s wearing jeans and a sweatshirt two sizes too big, her hair twisted up like she got in her car the second she decided she couldn't stay away. And God, she’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen.
"You shouldn’t be here," I say hoarsely, even though the second I see her, every broken piece inside me locks back into place like it never even cracked.
She steps closer, her voice trembling but sure. "I went to your house. Then the firehouse. Nobody knew where you were."
I stare at her, heart hammering against my ribs, like her words are a lifeline I didn’t even realize I needed.
"So how’d you find me?" I ask, voice low.
She hugs the thing in her arms tighter, her mouth trembling just a little. "There’s only one place you'd go if you needed to breathe."
I rise to my feet and close the distance between us, my hands aching to touch her, to tether her to me before she disappears again. She lifts her arms slowly, offering me what she’s been carrying like it’s something sacred.
"I made this," she says softly, her voice frayed and raw. "For you."
I take it from her carefully, our fingers brushing, a shiver shooting down my spine at the contact. It's a hardcover book, small and simple, but when I turn it over and catch sight of the cover, it nearly knocks me to my knees. A hand-drawn illustration of a bear, massive and proud, standing guard over a tiny girl in a red hoodie. His body is angled protectively, his paws braced in front of her like a living shield against the world. Above them, the title is etched in Serena’s beautiful, careful handwriting: The Bear Who Stayed.
I flip it open, hands almost clumsy, my heart hammering so loud I can barely hear anything else. Page after page is filled with her soft, detailed drawings—thick woods, empty trails, stormy skies. A girl who looks too small for her world, too fragile. And the bear who always finds her, always carries her to safety.
The way she’s captured every goddamn emotion—the fear, the loneliness, the fierce, bone-deep relief of being found—gutsme completely. There’s a tenderness to the way the bear touches the girl, in the curve of his massive body around her, in the way he shelters her with his strength.
It’s not just a story. It’sourstory. Every terrible, beautiful piece of it.
And when I reach the first page, there, tucked into the bottom corner in that same delicate script, is the dedication:
For the one who found me when I couldn't find myself.
And never let go.
My chest caves in on itself. I blink down at the words, trying to hold myself together, but it's no use.
