Page 104 of The Perfect Love

“Hey,” Trevor calls from the other side of the kitchen. “No stealing my girl.”

We pull apart, laughing, then Hyla wraps her arm around my back. “Sorry, she’s mine now.”

He smiles contentedly. “Good. I need my two favorite people to get along.” Liz clears her throat, and Trev kisses her head. “I don’t have to worry about you getting along with anyone, Mom. And you’re always number one in my heart.”

She laughs and swats him with a towel. “You’re a kiss-up just like your dad was.”

His smile grows. “I learned from the best.”

Then that smoldering look is turned on me, only it’s not just a smolder. It’s laced with something so much deeper. Something that tugs on my heartstrings the same way watching him with his family does. It deepens that feeling growing inside me. The one I’m too afraid to name because I keep telling myself it’s too soon or I don’t want to jinx it.

But it’s there all the same, growing quietly in the background.

I have a feeling it won’t be long until it grows so big, I’ll have no choice but to let it burst out of me.

I’m cozy and close to sleep nestled in Trevor’s insanely comfortable bed when he climbs in with me, hair still damp from a shower.

He leans over and kisses me, but doesn’t settle in. Which makes me flick my eyes open and look at him.

“Are you okay?”

He lets out a little grunt. “I don’t know.”

“Talk to me.”

“I’m worried about Hyla.”

“How so?”

“She’s lost weight since I saw her last. She was picking at her food tonight. And underneath everything, I can just see the pain…” He sighs and runs a hand through his hair. “It reminds me of—”

“What?”

He swallows, that weight in his voice growing heavier. “Senior year of high school, she went through some hard shit with her parents, and… she took a handful of her mom’s sleeping pills.”

A gasp slips out of me, but Trevor continues.

“When my mom told me… it was the second-worst moment of my life behind losing my dad. Even hitting all those fucking trees on my snowboard and my recovery, it was nothing compared to thinking I could lose the girl I consider my sister.”

I throw my arms around him, sliding closer and holding him tightly. He settles in my arms and then tells me the whole story. Everything Hyla’s been through. How horrible her parents are. How they manipulated her and her relationship with Mackenzie. It sounds truly awful.

“And she’s still holding out hope they’ll come around,” he grumbles. “I’ve been trying to get her to cut them out of her life for years, but she won’t do it.”

I sweep my hand over his cheek. “You can’t force her to do that. Another person trying to control her decisions isn’t what she needs. She needs your support.” He opens his mouth, but I keep going. “I know it’s hard. We both know that, right? But at the end of the day, she’s the only one who can make those hard decisions. All you can do is support her and show her you love her. I know you want to fix it for her, but it’s not up to you. She’ll only face her trauma whenshe’sready.”

His sigh is rough and painful as he looks at me, but he runs his fingers through my hair, some of the weight finally lifting off him.

He brushes his lips over mine. “You make me better.”

“You do the same for me.”

A moment of silence stretches between us, and I feel that word rumbling in the depths of my soul, pulling at me, making me question if I should say it.

Then his eyes meet mine, and I swear I see the same thing mirrored in them.

But we’re both chickens and don’t say anything. After a moment, he pulls me close, kissing me deeply.

“Thank you for being here with me.”

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