Page 84 of Brazen Deceits

I hold her face in my hands, her cheeks damp under my thumbs. “If you’re too broken, then I’m nothing but colored sand. But we can work on it together, you and me, as long as it takes. As long as forever, Clara.”

She chews on her lip, searching me. But I have no mask for this. Just an honest need to be with this woman, to grow with her, to learn with her. To build something beautiful from our shattered pieces.

Finally, she smiles. “Forever it is, then.”

Chapter 36

Clara

My cheek aches, my arm stings, but here in Walker’s arms, promising each other forever? I’ve never felt safer.

I lean against his chest, needing to feel his heart against my cheek, the steady beat calming my shaky limbs. “We need to pack. We only have another few minutes of her yelling at my dad before she’ll be back at the door.”

His arms tighten, not letting go. “We can just leave. Is anything here irreplaceable?”

“No, but I want my stuff all the same.”

“Okay. You bring me your things and I’ll pack it up.”

We squeeze all my stuff into my backpack and the paper bag I brought with me just yesterday. I add a box of memories to Walker’s arms, and we’re done. My mom chases us as we hurry out the front. “Clara Grace, we are not done with this discussion.”

Shoving my stuff into the backseat of Walker’s SUV, I turn to face my mom, my dad hovering in the doorway. “I told you earlier, Mom. I’m done. I’m a grown woman and I won’t be treated like some foolish child, some trophy for you to show off. Not anymore. I’m done living to earn your love. Love isn’t like that, Mom. I shouldn’t have to earn it. It should just be.”

Walker opens my door for me, guarding my exit. And it isn’t smothering. It’s full of care, protection, and something so close to love that my crushed heart thumps in my chest, reminding me that despite everything, it’s still alive.

We pull away from my childhood home, my mother fuming barefoot on the front lawn, and it tastes like the start of forever.

The house is dark and quiet as we step into the warmth, our hands still twined together. The only thing keeping me tethered is Walker’s touch, the press of his hand in mine keeping my panic from spiraling.

I left home.

I’m never going back.

My heart clenches, my breath stalling in my lungs.

Walker notices my panic and pulls me close. “You did the right thing, Clara.”

“But did I? Why didn’t I just apologize?”

“Because you didn’t need to apologize. Your mom did.” He brushes the hair from my face, his palms warm on my ice-cold cheeks. “Only you can keep you safe. And that’s whatyou did—you removed yourself from a dangerous situation.” He rests his forehead against mine before reaching for my bloody arm. “We should get this cleaned up.”

I nod, letting him lead me upstairs to the guys’ tiny bathroom under the attic stairs. He pulls a crate full of first aid supplies from under the sink, handing me a damp cloth to soak my sweater so we can peel it off without tearing the scabs. I perch on the closed toilet, the warm water stinging where it hits the bloody half-moons left by my mother’s rage.

“So how wasyourThanksgiving?” I ask.

Walker chuckles, setting the bottle of hydrogen peroxide next to a pile of cotton pads. “Better than yours, if not by much.”

I swallow, not sure if I should ask. Fuck it. “You said you were happy to get out of there?”

He takes the washcloth from me, carefully teasing the fabric of my dress from my arm. “Yeah, I was. My family? It’s not like yours, but, well, it’s not good.”

“How so?”

He shrugs. “I’m not the son they want. I’ll never be the one they tell their friends about, the one they’ll brag about to my aunties and uncles.”

“But they love you, right?”

He rubs his hands against his pants. “Time to take off that dress so we can see what we’re dealing with, princess.”

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