Page 21 of You Found Me in the Dark
“It’s Cam,” I whispered, pulling away from Reed, eyes wide. “It’s—it’s two in the morning.”
Reed blinked, his hand still hovering in the space where my face had just been. “Oh, fucking fuck.” He dragged his hand over his face.
I swiped to answer the call, pressing the phone to my ear. “Cam, I’m fine?—”
“The hell you are!” His voice exploded through the speaker. “You disappear. You don’t text. Harper’s barely answering. And then she says Reed’s got you?! Where the hell are you?”
“I’m with Reed,” I said, trying to keep my voice calm. I am twenty-six but when it comes to Cameron, I still feel like the fifteen-year-old who moved in with him. Sometimes I felt morelike his daughter than I felt like his sister. “We are home now. I’m safe.”
There was a long pause. A heavy one.
“Did you see him?” Cam’s voice dropped, clearly pissed. “Tyler?”
I closed my eyes.
“Yeah.”
More silence.
And then, clipped and cold: “We’ll talk when you get in.”
The line went dead. Cam rarely hung up without an ‘I love you’. He was beyond pissed, which confirmed my suspicions. I lowered the phone, heart hammering harder now for a different reason. I should’ve texted him or called him. I should’ve let him know I was okay. I hated feeling so little. I loved my brother, but fuck, he still treats me like a kid.
Reed was watching me, quiet, the warmth from the kiss already dimmed by the weight of reality crawling back in.
“I forgot to keep track of the time,” I murmured.
He gave a tight, understanding nod. “I did too.”
I swallowed hard, still feeling the ghost of his lips on mine, still feeling the sexual tension that was left between us again. Everything had changed in a moment. But that didn’t mean the world outside had paused with us.
I cracked a wide smile and looked at Reed. He looked at me with confusion on his face. I began laughing, “God, that was so fucking worth whatever shit I have to deal with from my brother.”
Reed smiled and pulled me towards him with one hand on the nape of my neck. “For you, Wren, everything is worth it.”
17
REED
Wren looked like she was bracing for impact. Her fingers were clenched around her phone, her bottom lip tugged gently between her teeth, and she hadn’t spoken much since Cam hung up on her.
I hated that she had to carry this weight even after she escaped it. That just seeing Tyler again put all that fear right back in her body like it never left. It was shitty that Cam was already blowing this out of proportion. I am just hoping he gets over it quickly.
She glanced at the front door, barely lit from the porch lamp, then back at me. I didn’t let myself think. I just leaned in and gave her one more kiss. Soft. Quick. Just enough to say I’ve got you.
Her breath hitched, and she gave me a look like she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to walk into her old life now that something between us had shifted.
“You got this,” I said.
She nodded, and with one more glance, slipped out of the car and headed up the steps.
The door opened before she could get her keys out to unlockit. Cam stood there in basketball shorts and a hoodie, jaw tight, arms crossed. His blue eyes narrowed and searching for injury, for cracks. He then looked past her, locking on me through the windshield.
Yeah. This was gonna be a long night. I hopped out of my truck and gave him a small wave. We all headed inside.
Half an hour later, Wren was asleep in her room.
Cam had made her a cup of tea she didn’t touch, and by the time we’d finished dragging the basic details out of her — yes, it was Ty, no, he didn’t hurt her, yes, she’d been drinking, yes, I got there in time—she was visibly fading.
