before. But with her hand holding mine, I knew it was the truth. The Real Deal.
You’re still blue. But you’re pink also. So pretty and bright.
You should tell Audrey your colors. She put them on you.
“I—” That one word caught in my throat and I choked around its sound.
As I coughed awkwardly, Audrey unleashed a smile that left me breathless and convinced I’d die in this moment, finally a happy man. She held my gaze as she said, “You don’t have to say anything,” and it occurred to me that she didn’t believe her feelings would be reciprocated. And how was it that she could seem so perfectly content in settling for something so sad and mediocre?
The remainder of my bricks fell with the crushing realization. Ignoring the pain in my busted hand, I reached out to lay my palm against her cheek. “Jake told me to tell you that you put the colors on me,” I confessed.
“What colors are those?”
“Blue,” I told her, and with a deep breath, added, “and pink.”
Audrey’s recognition hit her in small doses. First, with the lift of her chin, and then, the parting of her lips. She nodded slowly and whispered, “That’s the color of love.”
I nodded, knowing nothing else needed to be said, but needing to say it anyway. “For the first time in my life, I made the decision to feel hurt and angry with someone else and not alone. You make me so fucking vulnerable, Audrey, and I hate it so much. I fucking hate that I don’t have a choice in any of this shit, and that nothing makes sense anymore. But I love you, and I guess that’s all that really needs to make sense.”
Her smile wobbled as her emotional control slipped away with tears that flooded her eyes and slipped over her cheeks. I brushed away what I could with sweeps of my thumbs, but the battle was impossible and I succumbed to the defeat, settling for a kiss instead. I relished in the wet warmth of her tears against my face, the salt that moistened her lips and mine, and the taste of passionate joy on her tongue as she kissed me with the strength of every confession she held in her heart.
Nimble hands gripped my cheeks and inked hands gripped hers, and when her forehead touched mine, she whispered, “Thank you, Blake.”
“The hell are you thanking me for?”
Shrugging, she smiled and smoothed the hair at my temples. “For letting it happen.”
I choked on a gruff chuckle. “I don’t think I ever had a say.”
“But you stopped fighting it,” she pointed out gently.
Audrey’s mother announced her presence with an awkward clearing of her throat. Unable to control her smile, Audrey released my face and went to change into her pajamas, leaving her mother to wrap my hand. Ann worked in a gentle silence, periodically taking a glance at my eyes to smile. Her touch alone was a healing agent, soothing and softly affectionate. I watched as she weaved the bandage meticulously and tightly, but not so much it cut off the circulation, and I could understand why she’d chosen to care for people for a living. It’s who she was. But whether it was simply her professional bedside manner, or a true affection toward me, I relished in her touch and in being cared for.
When she was done, she gave my bandaged hand a soothing rub before laying it on the table. “You should be fine until tomorrow, but you’re going to the doctor whether you like it or not, got it?”
With an obedient nod, I replied, “Got it.”
“No more punching refrigerators, okay?” She smiled warmly, crinkling her eyes.
I chuckled. “I’ll try not to.”
Her smile slowly faded as she packed away the rest of her bandages in a zippered bag. Then, with sincerity, she turned to me and said, “I don’t know if it’s my place to say something, but after the way you showed up here tonight, I feel like I should.”
“Okay,” I said, nodding and permitting her to continue.
Folding her hands against the table, she went on, “I don’t know what the situation is with your family, but I do know how close you are with your brother. What your parents are doing to you is abhorrent. But not just for you, but Jake as well. As a mother, and knowing how you two are together, I couldn’t imagine separating you.”
I sucked in a deep, controlled breath before saying, “I guess they think they’re doing