meeting my eyes, and I saw the decision not to lie to me again.
One by one, those shards pieced themselves back together.
The cracks were there, but I was no longer afraid of them. Instead, they served as a reminder that love wasn’t meant to be a pristine affair. It was meant to be messy and meant to hurt, but it would always mend if it’s true.
“I’m in love with you.”
It wasn’t what Houston had been trying to say.
But it was the truth his heart required.
Before allowing any others, he had to finally let that one free, and now my feet no longer felt like they were touching the ground.
“I need you to know that and for you to believe me. I need it because…I can’t pretend I’m not afraid of where he is and what he’s thinking. Jericho’s lived with this void, and once it has him, it…Loren’s looking for him right now, but…”
His fear mounted, making it harder for Houston to finish a thought, so why did I understand everything he was trying to tell me? Was it because I felt it too?
Did I really have to ask?
“Then let’s go,” I heard myself say to him. “Let’s go find Jericho.”
Houston’s surprise and his relief lasted for only a second before we were rushing hand in hand for the elevator to take us down. It seemed like an eternity passed before we reached the ground. Houston was on his phone checking for an update from Loren, and as we rushed outside and for the car, a new hour must have dawned.
Over my shoulder, I smiled up at the tower we had left behind as twenty thousand bulbs began to sparkle and wish us luck.
After reading the text that just came through, I quietly exhaled before pocketing my phone.
“So this is your plan then?” I questioned as I made my presence known. The hooded figure sat alone on the green bench, not caring who came along. “You’ll get arrested with your record, and she’ll take you back?” I snorted. “Think again.”
Rich sighed as he continued to sulk at the blue tiled wall in front of him. There was white writing on the dark glossy surface that said the same thing in the few languages I could translate, along with a dozen or so red specks that made no sense to me.
“Fuck off, Lo.”
Ignoring him, I frowned as I looked around. “How the hell did you even get in here?”
“I was good at this once, remember?”
Realizing he was referring to who he’d been with Emily, I rolled my eyes before turning to the square’s security guard. He was the one who’d found Rich lurking after hours. “Pouvez-vous nous donner un moment?” I asked him in rusty French.
The guard hesitated only a moment before nodding and trotting off. Sitting next to Rich on the bench, I got comfortable after looking at the stubborn set of his mouth.
“How did you even find me?” he snapped.
“Night guard’s a fan.”
I didn’t bother to elaborate any further because it didn’t matter how I got here as long as I was here. For the moment, Rich was too much of a jackass to see it.
“Lucky me,” he mumbled.
“Would you rather be in jail for trespassing?”
“Yes.”
I stared at his hard profile for a moment. “I take it things didn’t go well with Braxton this morning?” He didn’t bother to respond because I already knew the answer, so I tried a different tactic to keep him talking. Anything to keep him from sinking too deep inside his head where all the fucked-up thoughts resided. There would be too many casualties trying to get him out if he gave into them even once. “So, what now?”
“I’m leaving.”
I frowned at his announcement as I sat up. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“Bound.” He shook his head as he stared at the ground now. “I can’t do this shit anymore.”
“Let me guess,” I drawled through a smile that felt tight. Wasn’t a damn thing funny about what he had said. “You’ll run back into Emily’s frail-ass arms?”
“Fuck Emily, and fuck you too.” He looked at me now, his silver eyes aflame and full of accusation. “After what you did, I wouldn’t be surprised if her baby was yours,” Rich spat.
Don’t slap him, Lo.
“I would have never fucked that bitch with your dick. That kid isn’t mine, and I’m betting both of my nuts it’s not yours either.”
“Whatever.”
“You’re not leaving,” I told him immediately. I wasn’t going to beat around the bush or