When Darkness Ends (Moments in Boston #3) - Marni Mann Page 0,4

surrounded my cheek.

“I couldn’t get comfortable. You know these old bones like to ache a bit extra at night.” She set her book on the table, preferring to read than watch one of the four channels we got on our rabbit-eared TV. “You’re home earlier than usual.”

“It was a slow night at the bar.” I circled my hands around the frailness of her upper arm, pulling it closer to me. “Did you eat?”

“I heated up some soup.”

“Was it enough? Are you still hungry?”

“It was plenty for me, dollface.” Her thumb rubbed back and forth across the corner of my mouth. “How was school today?”

“Theater class went great, but I have an elective that’s much harder than I thought it would be. Luckily, I found a good study group that I think is going to help a lot.”

After leaving Dylan’s apartment, I’d tried not to let my brain return there—to thoughts of Ashe and his handsomeness, the surprise I’d felt when I learned they were roommates. I certainly didn’t need to recount the minutes I’d spent in his bedroom, getting to know more about the sexy man instead of being present in the study session. But while I’d sat on their couch, I couldn’t stop thinking about his light-blue eyes, the color of an early morning sky. The way his black hair made the angles of his face more defined, his cheeks deliciously scruffy, a gaze so strong that my feet felt cemented to his floor.

My life wasn’t full of coincidences, and I certainly hadn’t experienced any luck. I worked for everything I had, and I would for the rest of my life. That was something I’d accepted the moment I was born. Where some women would watch Ashe walk through that apartment door and think it was a sign, I’d considered it a warning.

And each second I’d spent talking to him confirmed that.

She gently patted my skin. “Are you able to go to bed, or do you still have some studying to do?”

I would be up until the early hours of the morning. Maintaining a high GPA was the only way I could keep my partial scholarship. If I lost that due to grades, I couldn’t afford to go to this school. Community college wasn’t going to give me the exposure I needed, and it wouldn’t gain me access to BU’s theater, which was so well-known and highly valued in the community.

“I have lots of work to do, Gran.”

“If I know you, you haven’t stopped long enough to eat today.” She kissed the top of my head. “Go put something in your stomach.”

I lifted her hand off my face and held the back of it against my mouth. Her skin was so soft and spotted, like the Swiss cheese I melted over her toast for lunch.

“Let me know if you need anything,” I said before I got up and went into the kitchen, opening the cupboard that housed most of our food.

Choosing one of the cans, I emptied the ravioli into a bowl and heated it in the microwave. While waiting for it to warm, I checked the fridge to see if I could find something to pair with the pasta.

Up until a few years ago, Gran had done the grocery shopping. Now that her arthritis was more advanced, walking the three blocks to the store had become too much for her. Now, she often went several months without leaving our apartment. Every other week, I would go to the market instead, picking up enough food to hold us over, making sure to get the things she loved the most.

I took out a slice of white bread and dropped it into the bowl along with a spoon, and then I grabbed my bag from the counter. While I was adjusting the heavy strap, I noticed Gran had covered herself in a second blanket.

“How about some tea?” I asked her.

She looked up from her book. Despite all the love in her stare, I could see the stress. The worry. The toll both had taken, worsening each day.

Around the time she had stopped shopping, she’d also had to quit her job. Her fingers were too bent and frozen, making it impossible for her to work at all, so she couldn’t continue being a seamstress. She could barely hold a coffee cup.

Supporting the two of us was a financial burden she didn’t want to put on me.

But I gave her no choice.

“Not tonight, dollface.” She set the book in her lap, even that