Page 98 of The Persistence of Thornes
“I guess I could try.” Head bowed, he digs through the candy bag again.
“Give that here.” I snatch it from him.
“Rude,” he huffs, holding up a handful he managed to keep.
Silence descends, only the muffled sound of music from the party permeating the air around us.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask when he’s silentfor a long moment.
He sighs, shoving the chocolate into his pocket.
I cringe. As a parent, I have firsthand experience with what happens to chocolate that finds its way into a person’s pocket, but I don’t say anything.
“What’s there to talk about? She moved on and I’m still here.” He lifts one shoulder, failing miserably at looking unbothered.
“Laith,” I prompt.
He sighs again, deeper this time, the sound tinged with an edge of sadness. “I don’t want to talk about it, Caleb. I shouldn’t be hung up on her anymore.”
“Maybe you should talk to Thayer.”
He snorts. “I don’t want to talk to my brother about my ridiculous pining.”
“Why not?” I zero in on him. “He pined after Salem for, like, six years. If anyone understands, it’s him.”
Face lowered, eyes fixed on his hands, he deflates. “It really doesn’t bother you, does it? Him and Salem?”
I scrub a hand over my jaw. “It did at first,” I admit. “I didn’t take my marriage vows lightly. But it was hard to stay mad once I saw them together.”
Laith groans, dropping his head back. “Why do you have to be such a good guy? Can’t you have some sort of flaw?”
I rest my head against the plywood wall and roll my eyes in his direction. “We all have flaws, man. Even me.”
For a handful of minutes, we sit like that, neither of us speaking.
“You gonna hang out here a while longer?” I finally ask, ready to get back to the party. On hands and knees, I crawlto the edge. My back is stiff, the bare floor causing my knees to ache. Is this what getting old feels like?
“Nah,” he says, following me. “I better head back in.”
I climb down the ladder and wait. Once he’s beside me, I grasp his shoulder. “If you ever need someone to talk to, I’m here. You know that, right?”
“Shit, Caleb.” He shrugs out of my hold. “Don’t go getting all sentimental on me now.”
I shove my hands into my pockets. “Dude, you were the one crying in the treehouse.”
“I wasn’t crying,” he huffs.
“Maybe not,” I give in. “But you were definitely sulking.”
He heaves out a sigh, his whole chest rising and falling. “You’ve got me there.”
The house is packed, making it impossible to find Halle or Seda.
“Where have you two been?” Thayer asks from behind me.
“Just catching up,” Laith side-steps me to grab a fresh beer.
Thayer homes in on me. “It’s like you two have a secret club, and I’m not invited. I don’t know whether to be hurt or glad I’m not getting dragged into Laith’s bullshit.”
