been here for Maddox for the most important days of his life – his football games, his birthdays, his graduation.
“What’s up with that kitten growl, Sweet Cheeks? Did someone step on your tail?” he teased.
I swatted his arm. “Watch it, Coulter.”
“You don’t scare me, Garcia.”
“I’ll bite you.”
“Bite me then,” he dared.
I snapped my teeth at him, and he threw his head back, chortling. My anger at his parents melted away at Maddox’s laughter. I refused to bring up the topic of his parents not attending the graduation ceremony. He was happy, right here and right now, and that was all that mattered.
I crossed my arms over my chest, pouting.
His laughter died, but he was still smiling. Maddox shoved his hand in his pocket, and he fished out a teal Tiffany box. What…?
My lips parted in surprise as he snapped open the small box. No way!
Shock coursed through my body. “Maddox,” I breathed, shaking my head. My cap slid down, and I fixed it on top of my head again, still staring at the box he was holding.
It was a necklace, exquisite but simple, with only a sterling silver charm.
“A dreamcatcher,” I whispered, my fingers brushing over the intricated webbed floral centerpiece and the delicate feathers attached to the round center.
“Now, we’ve got matching dreamcatchers.”
I let out a laugh at that. The memory from a few months ago flashed in my mind.
“What is this?” Maddox asked, giving the object in my hand a weird look. He appeared unimpressed.
“A dreamcatcher, silly.” I gave it to him, and he looked even more confused.
“Why are you giving me a dreamcatcher?”
I realized Maddox sometimes had bad dreams.
We fell asleep together last night, on his couch, while we were studying, and he had woken up from a nightmare. He didn’t speak of it, but the bleak look in his eyes broke my heart. He couldn’t go back to sleep and ended up going to the gym that was open twenty-four-seven.
Maybe it was fate or just pure coincidence, but as I was scrolling through Instagram, I found an ad for dreamcatchers.
Sure, it was a silly thing to give to him, but I remembered the dreamcatcher my mom used to hang on my headboard when I was a kid. She said it’d keep all my bad dreams and monsters away.
I didn’t really think much of it when I ordered it. True, Maddox and I were too old to believe in this, and he was obviously too macho for something so childish, but maybe…
Damn it.
I didn’t even know why I got this dreamcatcher, and now, I was doubting myself. The first gift I ever gave Maddox was a dreamcatcher. Oh, what a story to tell the world and our friends.
His eyebrows rose. “You seriously expect me to hang this on my bed?”
It wasn’t the response I was hoping for. My shoulders slumped, and I chewed on my lips, the feeling of bitter disappointment gnawing at my stomach. I thought maybe he’d be a bit more… appreciative?
I rose to my feet and squinted down at him, hands on my hips. Fuck him. “Look, if you don’t want it, you can throw it away. It was cheap anyway, so I don’t care.”
Maddox didn’t say a word. He just went back to looking at the dreamcatcher as if it was the weirdest thing he had ever seen.
I had thought he threw it away, like I told him to.
Except the next day, when I walked into his room… there it was.
The silly dreamcatcher I gave him, hanging onto his headboard. It looked so out of place in his bedroom, but Maddox kept it, close to him, right next to him while he slept.
We never spoke of it again, but every time I’d walk into his bedroom, that was the first thing my eyes would notice, and it’d always be there.
And months later, Maddox still had it. It was my first gift to him.
The dreamcatcher he didn’t want but never threw away.
I flipped my curled hair over my shoulders and stared up at Maddox. “Can you put it on me?”
He took the silver necklace out of the Tiffany box, and my throat went dry as his hands slipped around the back of my neck. He stood close, crowding into my space, but I couldn’t complain. His body heat caused me to flush, and his fingers were warm against my skin – a teasing touch, so featherlight that I barely felt it.
Maddox placed the necklace around my neck and the dreamcatcher charm laid on the