Page 69 of Who We Are

I tap the red button and go to my contact list for one person I know will give a shit about my butterfly.

“Breakfast? Planning a trip to Mexico in the middle of the night? Are you bored again? What’s going on, Matt? I’m at work.”

“Can you travel to Seattle tomorrow, Tristan?”

“What happened?”

“Thea. I don’t want her alone, and she needs a friend with her.”

“A friend? Matt, I don’t want to sound like an asshole, but again, I have work to do.”

“I can’t tell you what happened, but I think she needs to be around someone who cares about her.”

“Something happen to her?” The volume of his voice deafens me. “Is it bad? Matt, I can’t just leave work because you feel like we should hang out. Can you be more specific?”

“No. I can’t. It’s her story to tell. But I know you care about her almost as much as I do. And if that’s the case, call Mason and have him fly you, now.” I clear my throat. “She’s in a bad place. Tomorrow, I have to fly to Vancouver and can’t come back for almost two weeks. Thea needs to know she’s not alone. That she has us.”

“Don’t leave her until I arrive,” he whispers before the line dies.

ChapterForty-Three

Tristan

I fidgetwith the violet crystal Thea gave me months ago while waiting for Thea or Matthew to open the door.

The irony in the message she tried to deliver when she gifted it to me.You’re not alone.Now I’m only feet away from the same place to reassure her that I’m here for her. I look back at the door as it cracks open.

“You still have it.” Thea’s smile greets me, but the usual brightness on her face is gone. Her long, wet hair is hanging down a thin camisole, under it a sports bra.

Fuck, I’m getting hard.

“Of course I have it. It’s not every day that someone gifts you hope.” I shove the crystal back inside my pocket, never moving my eyes from her delicate face. “It’d be a sin to lose that special item that reminds me I’m not alone.”

“You must’ve thought that I was crazy.”

“Maybe. Honestly, when I need you close, I grab on to it for a few minutes.”

She chuckles.

“Now that I know you better, it makes sense. I also know that you’re different. Special. Unique.”

A strong girl that has me tied in knots. I open my arms for her, and she walks right into them without hesitation, relieving the tension I carried since Matthew called me.

“And I also know that you always look happy. Except today. Where’s that smile I love so much?”

She doesn’t respond, but she holds me as tight as I hold her. I inhale that warm, sweet aroma of hers that sends my heart into overdrive.

“It’s good to see you, but why are you here? Didn’t you say that you couldn’t come anymore?” Thea breaks the silence, her words muffled against my chest.

That’s something I can’t answer with honesty. I didn’t want to come because Matthew is stupidly in love with Thea. Fuck, maybe I’m also in that same chapter. In love. There’s no way I’d take Thea away from him. This is a fucked-up mess, and I should be jetting off, but it hurts to stay away when I know they need me.

“Can we take the love fest inside?” Matthew’s low voice questions.

“I thought you left.” Thea pushes herself off my chest. I loosen my hold but reach for her hand, not wanting to lose contact with her.

“No, I’d have said goodbye.” He lifts a plastic bag. “Went home to take a shower, grab my stuff for the trip, and brought some groceries. You have this crazy idea that milk comes from coconuts, not cows.”

Thea rolls her eyes at him but smiles after he brushes a quick kiss against her lips. He follows that with a peck on mine and climbs the stairs without giving us a second glance. She frowns. I shrug and follow after him, tugging her along.

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