A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies - Christina Lee Page 0,20

away inside Emerson until that moment. Or the fact that a few days ago, Emerson had come across a term in a Google search that had stopped him cold. And then had filled him with such relief and validation because he’d finally found something that described him. Demisexual. The reason why he didn’t have much of a sex drive except when it came to people he was very familiar with and could feel romantic toward. He could go on a hundred dates and never feel anything remotely like attraction, and he’d always thought there was something broken inside him.

But when he’d kissed Rhys, whom he’d been close to since childhood, an entire world opened up to him. He’d planned to talk to Rhys about it before everything went to shit. Figured. He was always taken out at the kneecaps just when he was getting started.

College, Rhys, life.

He was feeling sorry for himself again and needed to cut it out. He didn’t even know what the future would’ve held between him and Rhys anyway, and now he may never know. Maybe it was for the best. Rhys wasn’t one to stay attached to anyone for long. He was a free spirit and couldn’t be pinned down. But he was loyal to family, and now they needed to be the same for him and push everything else aside.

Yet there was still a flicker of hope alive inside him. He wouldn’t truly know what Rhys remembered about that night between them until they finally met face-to-face. And thus far, Rhys had been unconscious every time he was with him. The news of Rhys waking up flooded him with immense relief. And when Mrs. Lancaster mentioned that Rhys had asked for him, Emerson felt even more heartened.

Compared to everything else going on, their kiss and his sexuality were not nearly as crucial. That was why he needed to compartmentalize it. And he would’ve been able to do it privately had Audrey not walked into the room and spotted them in an embrace last week.

He gave Audrey a pointed look. “Let’s just take care of him, okay? Get him well. He’s going to need our help.”

“But you never got to—”

“We’re going to drop this for now. Promise me.”

He could feel her heated glare as he began loading the dishwasher.

“Yeah, okay,” she finally relented.

“He needs the time to let his memory return on its own.”

“What if it doesn’t?” She looked stricken, and Emerson felt guilty that she’d become so invested, though the reason why was harder to unpack. Except maybe she was trying to hold on to any shards of family life they had left.

He sighed. “You can’t force anything. Crap just happens. You know that.”

She frowned. “I may know it, but I don’t like it.”

“Yeah, me neither. But we have to roll with the punches.” He patted her arm. “You’ll have lots of good things to look forward to in your own life, Audrey. I promise.”

“And what about you?” The sadness in her tone nearly gutted him. He didn’t want her to think his life was fucked, even though he felt it sometimes. And now she was making her intentions clearer. She probably thought Emerson was lonely and needed someone like Rhys, as more than only a friend.

“I’m gonna be just fine.” His voice faltered. “And I’m lucky to have the two of you. Let’s drop this before it turns melodramatic. Besides, you have school to think about now.”

Since the accident, his birthday and their first day of school went by with little fanfare, but it couldn’t be helped, not when their minds were all on a very important member of their family.

Sam swept into the room after completing his first science assignment in record time. They might have to consider those gifted classes for him after all. “Will Rhys be okay?”

“Definitely.” He hoped Audrey would take his lead. “Know what we should do?”

“What?” Sam asked, reaching for the laptop, no doubt to play his favorite spaceship building game. The kind that Emerson couldn’t complain about because it used math calculations.

He wiped the counter with a damp rag. “We should get the house ready for Rhys.”

Sam gasped. “He’s gonna live with us?”

Audrey’s eyebrows knitted together. “But his house is right—”

“He has head trauma and some memory loss, along with other injuries,” Emerson pointed out. “He’ll need someone to look after him for a while.”

“I read up on broken ribs. They’re really painful,” Sam said. Of course he’d looked it up. Their own little Einstein. “You