Page 73 of You Found Me in the Dark
“Morning,” I said, voice low.
He let the silence hang for a second before responding. “It is.”
I raised a brow and let out a soft laugh. “I am going to have to use that sometime. You okay man?”
That earned me a look over his shoulder. A small smile played on his lips.
I stepped farther into the kitchen, leaning on the island across where he stood. “I wanted to talk to you.”
He sighed and leaned back against the counter, bowl in hand, arms crossed. “So… talk.”
I nodded slowly. “I meant what I said yesterday, Cam.”
His jaw tightened, but he didn’t cut me off this time.
“She’s not a phase or a distraction. I didn’t go looking for this. For her. Listen, man, I don’t want to lose you, but I won’t walk away from her either.”
He stared into his cereal for a second, like the answer might float to the surface.
When he finally spoke, his voice was quieter. “It’s not that I don’t think you care about her. I know you do. I’ve seen the way you look at her.”
I held my breath.
“But Reed… she’s my little sister. You’ve been in my life longer than most people ever stick around, and now it feels like I’m standing in the middle of two people I care about and waiting to get hit from both sides.”
“I’m not trying to hurt anyone,” I said. “Least of all you. I know I should’ve said something sooner. I should’ve come to you first. But I didn’t because I knew how this would feel to you.”
Cam set the bowl down and rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m still not thrilled about it.”
“Fair.”
“But…” he looked at me then, eyes tired but honest. “You’re not just some guy. You sure as hell aren’t another Tyler. And if it’s gonna be someone—someone who really sees her, who’d put himself through hell to protect her—I’d rather it be you.”
My chest loosened a little, enough for me to breathe.
“Damn man, you don’t know how much that means to me,” I said. “I will take care of her.”
Cam gave a slow nod. “You better. Because if you ever screw this up, Reed…” he narrowed his eyes, just a hint of the old protectiveness flashing through. “You won’t have to worry about me forgiving you.”
I swallowed hard. “Understood.”
Progress. It didn’t feel like a full green light, but the ice was thinning. I could work with that. For Wren, I’d work through anything.
I almost forgot Wren had said Harper and Lena were coming over for breakfast. But when I heard the front door open without a knock, I didn’t even flinch. This was Cam and Wren’s house—but the girls had always treated it like their own. That’s how the Callahans preferred it. The house for wayward souls is what this place should be called.
“Still allergic to knocking, huh?” I called, walking from the kitchen into the hallway and stopping between the living room and the foyer. I was already halfway through my second cup of coffee. I drank my first one too fast, but after last night, my body craved the caffeine.
Harper’s voice was filled with annoyance. “Still allergic to not being a dick? Hm, I guess you are what you eat!”
She strutted into the kitchen like a damn hurricane, dropping bags onto the kitchen island. Her magenta hair was twisted up into her go-to space buns, the platinum blonde money pieces framing her mischievous face. She wore one of her signature oversized T-shirts with tiny shorts underneath, thoughfrom the front, it looked like she might not be wearing pants at all.
Cam, posted up on the couch in the living room with his mug of coffee, definitely noticed.
I clocked it immediately—the split-second flick of his eyes down her legs and back up. Smooth. Subtle. So he thought. Dude, was just on my ass about being in love with his sister, and he’s checking out mine? He is something else.
He didn’t say anything, just smirked behind his mug, but Harper caught it. Of course she did.
“Well, well,” she said with a grin, tossing herself onto the arm of the couch beside him, “look who’s up before noon. Cam the Man. Wasn’t sure you existed before then.”
