Page 128 of Nocere

"I told Stella," she said, choking on her words after.

I nodded and stroked her cheeks with my knuckles. "What was that like for you?"

"She said I should tell you."

My brow furrowed as confusion entered the moment. "I don't understand."

She shook her head, leaning away to meet my gaze again "I told her how I feel about you."

"Oh." My heart leapt in my chest, and I offered her a small smile. "I agree with her assessment. You should tell me."

"It'll ruin everything."

"It won't, honey."

"It will."

"Well, then you tell me when you're ready. Okay?" I tucked her hair behind her ears and she nodded. "Okay then. Want to know something?" Again, she nodded. "I told Alice how I felt about you and she told me I should tell you. So I did."

She let out a soft chuckle and brushed her lips over mine.

"Smart people, those two." I kept on talking, mainly because she wasn't and I wanted to hear her voice more than anything right then.

"I told Stella what happened to me," she whispered, closing her eyes. "It upset her."

"Of course it did, Sam. She's upset for you, not at you."

"I didn't want to hurt her. Or you. Or anyone."

"As sad as it is to say, honey, sharing our darkness made us closer, didn't it?"

"Yeah." She sniffled and rested her head on my shoulder again, and for the first time, she let me hold her.

"I'm so tired," she said after a while.

"Let's go to bed, okay?"

She nodded and we broke apart to sit up. Her hand never released mine as we headed to her room. Her pace slowed as she glanced into the laundry room on our way by. "Did you do my laundry?"

"A little," I said, smirking as we entered the tidy room.

"And clean my house?" She stood at the entryway, her brows lifted as she glanced around.

"I got bored while waiting." I laughed and she grabbed me into a rough hug from behind.

"Rosie, you didn't have to do that."

"I wanted to. It seemed like you needed me a little." I hugged her arms then turned to look up at her. "Like how I need you sometimes. I kind of liked it."

She closed the space between us and caught me in a soft kiss. Her thumb stroked my cheek until we parted. I smiled and poked her chin when she chuckled.

"Snuggle with me?" I asked and she nodded.

"If you sleep naked."

"How about you sleep naked, too?" I flicked my eyebrows upward and she smiled. The fatigue in her beautiful face dimmed the light in her hazel gaze.

"Okay," she said, smooching my cheek before releasing me.

---