When Darkness Ends (Moments in Boston #3) - Marni Mann Page 0,46

your plans today?”

“Since Frank wouldn’t put me on the schedule for tonight and I don’t have any homework, I have nothing on the agenda. I do need to go home soon and check on Gran.”

“I’ll come with you.” My body stiffened, and I imagined he’d felt it because he added, “Pearl …”

He’d offered to come with me many times before. I’d turned him down or avoided an answer each time. But as I glanced up from his chest, his hand went to my cheek.

“Don’t hide her from me. She’s the person you love most in this world; share her with me.”

“Ashe …” My voice was so soft. “It’s not her I’m hiding.” I sat up, crossing my legs in front of me.

His hand went to my knee, and he rolled onto his side to face me. “Talk to me.”

I glanced out the window, at the adorable-looking strip that was across from us, housing a cute coffee shop that we went to all the time and a restaurant that he’d taken me to a few weeks back. On the ends were brownstones that were probably worth several million.

“Where I live looks nothing like this.”

“So?”

As I gazed at him, he seemed unaffected by my brief description. I needed him to understand.

“So, it makes me uncomfortable—the thought of showing you my neighborhood when I compare it to yours.”

He cupped my cheek, his fingers rubbing a small section of scalp behind my ear. “I want to see every part of you, Pearl. Even the parts that make you uncomfortable. And believe it or not, I would be so proud if you showed me your home.”

I was staring into his eyes, searching for answers. “I don’t understand.”

“You work at the bar almost every day of the week, you go to college full-time, you’re the lead actress for the school plays, you support your grandmother, you put food on the table, you pay all of the bills.” He placed his fingers on my heart. “You do all of this without anyone’s help; every bit of it is on you. And yet, you still make Dean’s List every semester.” He kept his palm there but extended his fingers to my shoulder. “Most kids, like myself, wouldn’t be capable of even half that. We’ve been given everything we have, and we haven’t worked a day in our lives. So, instead of worrying what I’m going to think, you should be proud to show me everything you’ve worked your ass off for.”

I looked around at the matching furniture in his room and the expensive signed jerseys he had framed on the wall and the fluffy comforter that matched his pillowcases.

“You’re right,” I said softly. “It might not be the best, but it’s ours.”

There was no judgment in his eyes, just admiration. “And I will love it.”

I knew this was the next step in our relationship; it just wasn’t an easy one. I had no experience, no knowledge on how to tackle this vulnerability, how to continue to reveal all the different sides of me when each came with new, uncharted emotions.

But I would learn because holding back wasn’t fair to him.

Just as he began to rub my muscle, loosening me up, my eyes closed.

I took in a deep breath and said, “Okay.” My lids opened, and I stared into his eyes. “I’ll take you home.”

Thirty-Three

Before

Ashe

I’d never been to Roxbury. The farthest I’d ever taken the orange line was to the Mass Ave. stop to visit friends at Northeastern. But I’d heard things about that area; it was impossible not to when it was known as one of the roughest, gang-ridden sections of the city.

When stepping off the train with Pearl, I had images in my head of what I expected it to look like, and the reality met every expectation. There was graffiti almost everywhere, trash littered the sidewalks, a drug deal took place on a bench as we walked by.

Pearl acted as though she didn’t notice, and I assumed she had become immune to it all. I was sure if I’d spent most of my life here, I would have been as well.

While my hand was holding hers, she used her other one to point to a building across from us. “I lived there with Vanessa. I was probably around nine at the time. We only lasted a few months, and then we moved there.” She was nodding toward the next high-rise, both almost identical. “At some point in my life, I’ve lived in most of the buildings