Page 74 of Lust

He sizes me up. “What’s wrong, Luke? What happened?”

“That stuff Cody picked at in the shower? It came up again. The same memory of the day my mom told me my dad wasn’t going to be okay. It was…rough.”

And I can’t shake that shit. It lingers, tormenting me, cruelly, with one of the more horrifying days of my life.

“Of course it was.” Brad gazes at me for a few moments before scooting closer and hooking an arm around me. Despite how soothing his hold is, there’s a searing pain in my chest, one that doesn’t get better.

And the tears come again.

I turn to Brad, wrapping my arm around him and pulling him close.

He rubs my back. “I’m here. It’s okay.”

As comforting as his hold is, I know it’s not okay.

Nothing about losing them will ever be okay.

20

BRAD

On Tuesday thefollowing week, after my second class, I head to the courtyard and FaceTime with Mom. It’s her day off, and I reach her while she’s catching up on someReal Housewives of Salt Lake City. I check in, asking about her symptoms. I keep waiting to hear about the tingling and fatigue, the usual signs that I need to make another trip home, but based on what she says, her MS hasn’t been bad since my last visit. I’m hopeful maybe we can make it to the holidays, at least.

I tell her about the test I just crushed when she suddenly eyes me suspiciously and says, “Why are you smiling so much today?”

I’ve noticed that look the last few times we’ve chatted, when she’s asked about my plans for the evening or if I’ve made any new friends—not the kinds of questions she normally asks. She’s probing for something.

“Guess I’m just feeling good today,” I lie.

I know why I’m feeling good. Because I’m only one more class away from meeting up with Luke at the library so we can chill…and, well,notchill together.

“Okay, it’s more than that,” I confess. “There’s a guy, since I know that’s what you keep dancing around.”

Her eyes widen. “A guy? Really?” she says, appearing genuinely shocked.

“Why are you acting surprised? This is what you’ve been hinting around all week.”

“I figured that’s what it was, but I wasn’t expecting you to tell me this soon. You’ve never mentioned a guy to me before.”

She grins like she already knows how into Luke I must be to tell her that. And I must admit, I’m getting pretty hung up on him.

Even with all the Sinners bullshit we have to navigate, I like spending time with him. Getting to know him better. Finding out the little things about him. Like how he needs his bangs to have that perfect curl in front. Or that he owns, like, five black thermal sweaters, which look the same, but I can see why they’re his favorite because they definitely show off his assets best. Or trying to guess how long I’ll see him with the book he’s reading—the one from last night might last until tomorrow.

And now that I’m thinking about those things, I’m smiling even more.

“So how do you know him?” Mom presses.

For some reason, that sets me on edge.

I met him because I’m part of a group that fucks around with magic, and we’re pretty sure between our botched spell and this guy arriving at the school, an evil monster has escaped from an alternate dimension, and we’re trying to stop it from going on a killing spree.

Not the kind of thing to tell Mom, you know?

“We go to the same school. Not a big mystery, is it?” I shrug.

“You planning to bring him home for Thanksgiving break or maybe Christmas?”

“It’s kinda early for that. He has an uncle he might spend it with, but…I’d like to introduce you two. I think you’ll like him.”

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