Page 23 of A Sinner's Saint

“I always want you to hold my hand,” I tell him as his fingers entwine with mine. I follow Vin into the kitchen, Lauren and Devon tagging along behind us.

Marcus walks up next to me. He slings an arm over my shoulder. “So, Cammi, what are your intentions with my boy here?”

My eyes widen. “My intentions?”He’s not serious, is he?

Vin stops in his tracks before yelling out, “Hey, Dash?”

“Yeah, bro?” Dash pops up from around the corner.

“Call the doc. Marcus is gonna need his fingers reset. Maybe his wrist casted too,” Vin tells him.

Dash looks to Marcus. “Dude, really? You’re going to poke the bear like that? Come on, my mum’s gonna kill me if we get blood everywhere.”

I step closer to Vin, forcing Marcus’s arm to drop from my shoulders. “My intentions are to be the best girlfriend I can be, for as long as he wants me to be,” I tell Marcus. Everyone goes silent. “What are your intentions with my boyfriend, Marcus?”

“Oh, nice. I like you. But you should know we’re a package deal. Me and Him. I’m not going anywhere. Bros before?—”

“You finish that sentence and Iwillfucking knock you out,” Vin growls.

Marcus snaps his mouth closed. “Sorry, mate. So, who wants booze? I got the best of the best,” he says, walking down the hall to where I assume the kitchen is located.

Everyone shuffles past us. I wait until they’re all out of earshot. I can feel Vin’s hand trembling in mine. His jaw is tight, his eyes drawn down. “Are you okay?” I ask him.

“No.” He shakes his head. “Do me a favour? Go into the kitchen with your friends. There’re water bottles in the fridge.” He lets go of my hand.

“What are you going to do?” I ask him.

“I just need to step outside for a moment,” he says.

He’s going to go smoke. That’s what he wants to do right now. I’m torn. I want to go with him. But I also always want him to be able to have the space he so desperately needs. “Okay, I’ll go find the girls, if you’re sure.”

“Mhmm, I won’t be long,” he says and turns, walking in the opposite direction of the kitchen.

I stand still. Unmoving. I should give him space, right? It’s what he wants. It’s what he asked for. Yet there’s a huge part of me that wants to go after him. He needs to know that whatever he’s going through, whatever he’s feeling, he doesn’t need to do it alone. My feet are moving before I’m aware that I’m following him. I find Vin sitting on the front step with a joint between his fingers. He brings it to his mouth as I lower myself next to him.

He blows out a billow of smoke, then turns to me. “You shouldn’t be out here.”

“I should be wherever you are. And you’re out here. So here I am,” I tell him.

“I’m not…” He shakes his head and puffs on the joint again.

“You don’t have to tell me, Vin. You don’t need to explain anything. You also don’t need to be alone anymore. I’m right here.”

“What are your plans this weekend?” he asks.

“Not much. Why?”

“I want you to stay with me,” he says.

“For the whole weekend? You’ll grow tired of me.” I laugh.

“Impossible.” He pauses to take another drag of his joint. “So, will you?”

“Okay, I can stay until Monday,” I tell him. “My parents think I’m staying at Elena’s.”

“You wanna go back inside?” Vin puts out the smoke, squashing it under his shoe as he glances back towards the door.

I stand and move down a step so I’m in front of him. “What I want is for you to hug me.”

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