Page 65 of Stained Hearts
I rolled my eyes. “It’s Amy Lane. Of course you will.”
He sighed. “I can’t believe you read them.”
“You don’t know the size of my collection. All my favorites are there, ready to be read and loved. I can’t wait to introduce you to Danny and Lance from SJD’sPlan B, and Olly and Joe from L.M. Somerton. Oh, and….” I scrubbed a hand through my hair. “Shit, there’s just so many I want you to meet. The paperbacks are there for the reading. Plus you can see the author’s signatures, which makes the collection even more awesome.”
I wasn’t kidding. I had signed copies of my all my favorites. Brian used to laugh, saying someone who looked like me shouldn’t be reading things like that. He teased me mercilessly about them, until he sat down to read them himself. Then he changed his tune.
“Maybe one day you can go to a convention with me. There are so many authors who would love to sign your books. I got Mary Calmes to sign a stack of them for me. You should have seen her face when I dropped them on the table.”
“What did she say?”
“She smiled at me and told me I’d just made her day. Then she sat there with me, talked about my favorite characters, and told me things she’d been working on. I was nervous as hell about approaching her, you know. I kept thinking authors are like actors or rock stars. They weren’t really interested in their fans. She and everyone else I talked to? To the person, they were sweet and kind and more than happy to talk to you.”
The sound of Galen clearing his throat startled us.
“Sorry, we were…. Um….”
Aiden chuckled. “Talking about a newfound common interest.”
Galen shook his head but smiled. “The car’s loaded. We’re ready to go.”
I got up and held a hand out to Aiden. “Are you set?”
His lip wobbled a bit as his gaze roamed the room. “This was my firstrealhome. When I lived with our parents, I always thought I was biding time until I could get out of there. Then he went off on his tirade about gays, and I couldn’t stay there anymore. The problem was, I didn’t know where to go. I came to see Livvy, hoping she might have a suggestion. When I broke down and told her I was gay and what Dad had said, she wrapped me in an embrace and said that it was okay, that she loved me and that I could stay with her.”
He ran a hand over one wall, and I could see the sheen of tears in his eyes.
“She busted her hump trying to provide for me. She went to work at that awful place for the insurance. She insists that wasn’t the reason, and that she liked working with Galen, but I’m not stupid. With all the trips to the doctor, I knew there was a price to pay, and even though I was a kid, I understood that she’d decided she was going to be the one who paid it.”
The tears spilled over, glistening on his cheeks. He stared hard at one spot, then tapped it with his index finger.
“Right here? I hung her picture so I could look at it every night. It reminded me of what she was doing for me and helped me to not be a dick when things got bad for me. It didn’t always work, but she still loved me.” He turned to me and opened his arms wide. I stepped over to him, and he wrapped them around my stomach.
“Is it stupid that the only good memories I have of growing up are here? That so many times I wanted to call Livvy Mom and tell her how much I love her. She was my whole world growing up, and now you are.”
Galen sighed. “That’s beautiful.” When I scowled at him, he blushed and pointed to the door. “I’ll wait in the other room.”
As soon as he left, Aiden sagged against me. “I feel like I’m running out on her.”
I reached out and lifted his chin so he had to look me in the eyes. “Hey, no, none of that. She wants you happy, and that’s what I want too. If you’d rather stay here, that’s fine. We’ll still spend the weekends together, and maybe we can take a vacation somewhere.” The words sounded sure and strong, but inside I was trembling with fear that he’d decide to stay with Olivia.
“What? No! I want to live with you. I’ll just miss her.”
“It’s not like we’re on the other side of the planet. She’s a phone call away, right?”
He nodded.
“Then you can call her to go out to coffee or lunch. You’re not going to lose her, and I think you know that.”
He took in a deep breath. “Yeah, you’re right. Change is hard, though, you know?”
That was something he didn’t need to tell me. “I agree, but sometimes it’s important and helps us become stronger.”
“You wanna know what I’m going to like best about living with you?”
I nipped at his neck. “What’s that?”
“It’ll be like living with a Hallmark card.” He cackled. “Or maybe Confucius. All wise and knowing.”
