Page 33 of Closer

“Yes.” He shuffles with his feet. “Lil?”

“Yeah?”

“Get home safe.”

I nod and push past him.

Will we ever be able to talk like normal people?

I jolt awake, images from the nightmare already fading. Gemma and Mary are still fast asleep on either side of me. Both of them look so peaceful that I don’t have the heart to wake them. After the thing with Elijah, we snuggled up on the couch, ate ice cream, and watched movies.

Carefully, I extract myself from the tangle of blankets and grab my phone, checking my messages.

Nothing.

Why am I even hoping to see a message from him? It’s only been a couple of hours since we arrived home, so…

Too wired to even think about more sleep, I quietly pad into my room, shutting the door behind me with a soft click. Collapsing onto my bed, I unlock my phone, fingers hovering over several names before deciding on Landon.

“Lil?” Landon’s voice is calm and collected despite the late hour. “Everything okay?”

“Hey. Yes, I’m sorry. I… I needed to talk to someone.”

He makes a sound of understanding. “Did you have an episode again?”

“No.” I sigh, rubbing my temples.

“What’s going on?”

“How did you know Anne was the one? Like no doubts, one hundred percent sure?”

I hear shuffling on the other end of the line, imagining him sitting up in bed.

“She challenged me and made me want to be everything to her because when I look at her, I see a future I want to be a part of. When you find that person, there’s this sense of rightness. Like your souls fit. You can’t let them go, and you don’t want to. It makes you selfish.”

His words resonate within me. Sebastian.

“You’re a hopeless romantic,” Anne says in the background. “Is that Lil? Let me talk to her.”

Landon sighs, the sound crackling over the line. “I’ll come to you in a second, love.”

“Give her to me,” Anne says.

Landon’s voice grows distant. “Here.”

A shuffle, and then Anne’s voice fills my ear. “Lil! How are you?”

“I’m good.” The lie slips easily from my tongue. “Just catching up.”

“Mm-hmm. About how much your brother loves me?”

“You love me just as much,” Landon says.

“Shush,” Anne says. “Lil, is this about a certain someone?”

“The asshole who shall not be named,” Landon finishes grimly.

“I don’t—”

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