Page 78 of Succumbed

When I look up again, Shane’s gazing across the hall. Lex is in the next room over, painting. It was Shane’s idea to ask for her help on the project we’d been putting off since moving in. He said doing the mundane task of repainting the upstairs bedrooms together could help clear her mind and release some tension.

I don’t know if it was us, the looming Summit, or something unknown, but Lex has been in her head for days. She made time for a forty-five minute meeting with the three of us earlier in the week, but even during our daily runs and the one night she cleared for me and Shane, she was distracted. Distant. I fucking hate it.

I’d been skeptical she’d go for Shane’s painting idea, but then I watched the tension seep from her body as she stood in the middle of the room we’d cleared, hands on her hips. After a deep breath and a nod, she dove right in, torturing us both as she bent in her tight yoga pants to fill her roller with paint. Two hours later, she was laughing again, limbs loose and eyes sparkling as she skimmed the roller over the wall. I’ve yet to fully process why I felt so overwhelmingly relieved at the sight.

Shane looks back at me, pensive. “I don’t think there’s a formula, Linc.”

We’d left Lex in the other room for a moment to refill the paint trays. I can hear her music drifting down the hall, the hum of her murmured singing a soothing backdrop. I drag my attention back to Shane.

“So you believe in love at first sight?”

I don’t. Lust at first sight was one thing, but truly falling for someone? That shit doesn’t happen in an instant.

“Yeah.” Shane shrugs. “I guess I do.”

My eyebrows climb toward my hairline. “You’re shitting me.”

He chuckles. “I’m not. What, you think I’m too logical for that?”

“I mean, yeah? Kinda.” I blink. “You’re the stoic one. Grounded, steady. Love at first sight seems like the opposite of that.”

“Isn’t love grounding?”

My brow creases. “Is it? I’ve never thought of it like that.”

“How have you thought of it?”

“Like…a tempest. A storm. Consuming, but not necessarily bad. Like that moment when you stand outside and everything’s getting dark and even the air is charged and the world feels like it’s holding its breath. Waiting for something…atmospheric and dangerous and life-changing.”

Shane studies me, then hums an intrigued sound. “I think love can be many things to each of us. You have your storm, I have…safety and a sense of belonging. To me, love is trust and comfort. Warmth.”

I can see that, especially for him. “But…how do you feel safe with someone the first time you see them?”

He smirks. “What did you feel that day on the playground when we met?”

“Nah, man. Not that kind of love.” I roll my eyes.

“Love is love, Linc. I might not fuck you or Dec, but I love you. Always have, always will. Didn’t take me years or even days to figure it out, either. Just one glimpse of Dec’s determination and your defiance.”

I force myself to swallow down the emotion rising in my throat. He seemed like a superhero to me back then, tall and imposing with his steely glare, even as a kid. I trusted him the moment Declan brought him over, and when he stood up for me? No one had ever been so cool. There’d been no question in my mind–back then and even now–Shane was as much a brother to me as Declan.

“Fuck, man,” I rasp.

Shane grins. “What? I’ve said it before.”

“Not sure you have,” I challenge, looking up at the ceiling as I blink rapidly, eyes hot. Heart-to-hearts aren’t really our thing. Fuck. Maybe they should be.

“Hey, did you two lose the paint or something? It’s been ages–” Lex sweeps into the room and freezes, looking at me, then Shane. “Um…you okay?”

I want to kick Shane in the ‘nads when he laughs.

“Linc’s in his feels.”

“You said you loved me, asshole,” I shoot back, rubbing a hand over my eyes.

Lex’s green eyes soften as she smiles. “Of course he does.”

I glance at her, raising a brow. She sighs and looks up at the ceiling, as though begging for patience. Stepping into my space, she slips her arms around me.

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