Page 34 of Holiday Scars
He doesn’t even turn around when we leave. He’s just standing there. The last thing I see is Rhys getting naked and crawling into bed with his neighbor/fake girlfriend.
Back outside on the sidewalk, the hint of pine on our jackets and the warm spice of the holiday season break through car exhaust and steam. It feels downright...Christmasy. Snow has even started to fall, soft and slow. Jett stands beside me, head tilted back to watch it fall.
For a moment, it’s perfect. Like Rhys says. Because it’s just us again. Like we used to be.
Jett glances at me, eyes catching mine. I watch him back, taking in the way he holds himself, and for a heartbeat, it feels like nothing else exists.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Jett
Outside of Rhys’s building, I linger like an idiot. My arms are crossed, braced against the cold. Blade is an impossible mix of hardness and sorrow etched into his face.
The faint melody of “Silent Night” from somewhere drifts down the street, sweet and haunting.
I nod toward the building. “So... Rhys is getting it on with his fake girlfriend?”
Blade huffs out a breath that could almost be a laugh. “Fake my ass. She’s been dragging him to Christmas markets, cookie exchanges, and a Friendsgiving with people I heard him say he plans to kill. And he just stole a damn tree for her. He’s gone.”
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Guess love makes you do insane things.”
The words hang there, too heavy, too honest. Blade glances away first. Snowflakes drift, catching on his leather jacket. He doesn’t seem in a hurry to leave.
I suck in a breath of cold air. “So... How’s Stavros?”
The shift in his body is instant. Shoulders stiff and eyes vacant, he says, “He’s...okay.”
That’s it. Just okay.
There must be more that Blade thinks I don’t want to hear. I nod like it doesn’t gut me, like I didn’t hope he’d tell me it’s awful and beg to come home with me.
Blade shakes his head. “See ya. Say hi to Lennox for me.”
He turns and walks away, disappearing in the haze of falling snowflakes.
Something inside me snaps. “Blade!”
He stops and turns toward me with red, tired eyes.
“Want to share an Uber?” I ask, shrugging.
He hesitates, then gives a small nod.
I order one on my phone, using a fake account tied to a shell credit card. The car arrives two minutes later, and we climb in. The driver pulls away and heads to Blade’s address since I entered that first for a two-stop ride.
The heat blows weakly into the backseat, just enough that we both lean toward it. Blade’s thigh brushes mine, barely touching, but it’s enough to light up every nerve I have left.
Blade’s voice breaks the silence. “He’s been sleeping on the couch.That’show Stavros is.”
My heart stutters, and I turn to him. “Yeah?”
He nods, staring out the window. “I’m moving out at the end of the month.”
I swallow hard. “You got a place in mind?”
“Nope.” He shakes his head. “But I’ll figure it out.”
The words are out before I can stop them. “Move in with me.”
