Page 5 of You Found Me in the Dark
“Cam texted me last night,” she said. “Said you were acting… off.”
I raised an eyebrow. “Cam has a big mouth.”
Lena shrugged like that wasn’t news. “And I have a big heart. Lucky for you, they cancel each other out.”
I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms. “You didn’t have to do this.”
“I know,” she said gently, opening the fridge and immediately making a face. “But I wanted to.”
She pulled out two Dr. Peppers, shut the fridge with her hip, and leaned against the island in the kitchen so casually.
“Want to talk about it?”
I shook my head no.
Lena didn’t press. Just passed me one of the cans and cracked open hers, then headed to the kitchen table. “Okay. Then just sit with me while I force Dr. P into your body at eleven in the morning and scroll on my phone.”
She gave me a soft, crooked smile. “You know it’s okay to be sad and have rough days. Sometimes you just need someone to keep you anchored while you feel it.”
I didn’t answer her, but I sat down at the kitchen table, both hands wrapped around the pop. I let her be there for me. I amgrateful that someone still knew how to show up without needing the whole story.
We didn’t talk for a while. The silence wasn’t awkward, but then again, nothing ever was with Lena. She began to play with the tab on the top of the can, but there was no pressure for me to speak before I was ready.
The weight in my chest was heavy. It had been since before last night, but sitting still in it and trying to pretend like it wasn’t crawling under my skin felt worse than saying something stupid.
“It wasn’t nothing,” I said, my voice barely there.
Lena didn’t look up, just kept scrolling on her phone. “Yeah?”
“But it wasn’t… something either.”
She glanced at me and waited. Not pushing me to talk, and that made it easier.
“It was Reed.”
That finally pulled her attention. A sharp, quick look as if she were assessing me. She locked her phone and set it down slowly.
“We didn’t—he didn’t do anything,” I rushed to say. I could feel the heat rising from my cheeks straight to the tops of my ears. I knew I was beet red. “It wasn’t like that. It was just… I was a mess again on the bleachers last night, alone in the dark, and he showed up. Then we sat there in silence. After a bit, he offered to take me on a drive and dropped me off after.”
“Cam’s best friend Reed?” she asked slowly, just to confirm. Like, I might mean some other Reed we both knew in this small ass town.
I nodded, the shame curling in my stomach. “Yeah.”
“And Harper’s brother.”
I covered my face with my hands. “Yes.”
Lena nodded slowly, like she was trying to be careful with herwords. She chewed on her lip and thought for a moment. “But… he saw you.”
I dropped my hands and blinked. “What?”
“You’re not the kind of girl who lets someone see her like that,” she said softly. “Not unless they actuallyseeyou. Normally, if you’re upset and someone comes around, you shut that shit down quickly. You put on a smile until you’re alone again.”
“I don’t know what it meant,” I admitted. “Maybe nothing. Maybe I just wanted someone to stay. But I can’t continue with this. Remember when we kissed back in the day? You’re still the only one I told. I don’t want Harper getting weird about it. She’d ask too many questions, and I don’t even have answers. God, Cam would be so pissed.”
If I had a nickel every time Reed played my knight in shining armor, I would have two nickels. Years ago, when I had gotten out of a long relationship right before my twentieth birthday, I went to clear my head at the beach, and Reed showed up. He sat with me in the sand for a few hours and was the person I leaned on. He sat through the tears, the anger, and the rants until I was calm. He gave me advice and helped me find the light at the end of the tunnel. And here he was again doing the same thing.
Lena’s gaze softened. “You don’t have to tell them,” she said. “You get to keep things close until you’re ready. Like you said, neither of you did anything. I’m not sure there’s anything to worry about.”
