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“Kennedy,” I whisper.

“What?”

I lift my eyes to meet his bright hazel gaze. “My name is Kennedy. Kennedy Angelina Smith.” I can’t stop the soft smile that spreads across my face. “I haven’t gotten to say that in years.”

“Kennedy.”

It’s ridiculous, but just hearing him say my name, myrealname in that deep, gravelly voice is comforting. And it feeds that flame of desire I’ve carried for him since that very first meeting.

“It’s not a good story.”

“I’m not unfamiliar with pain,” he replies then reaches forward and brushes a strand of my hair out of my face. It’s thatgentle touch that gives me the strength to dive headfirst into the darkest night of my life.

CHAPTER 21

KENNEDY

Afire crackles in the small fireplace, casting the tiny living room of the cabin in a soft orange glow.

Olivia is staring at the window even though the curtains are so thick you can’t see anything through them. Her blonde hair is back in a tight braid, her eyes just as hollow as they were that first night she came back from spring break.

“Yahtzee!” Brietta announces, her short, black hair swaying as she does a little victory dance in her chair. She’s won the last three rounds, and I know she’s trying to keep our morale up, but we’re slowly losing it a bit more each day.

I can still appreciate her attempt, though.

“I was close,” my dad says as he pushes his glasses back up on his nose.

“You were close last time, too,” Mikey replies with a grin.

“I was,” my dad insists then shoulder-bumps me. “Tell him, Dee.”

“He was close,” I say and try to fake a smile of my own. It’s been three weeks trapped in this house. Three weeks of sitting here, unable to do anything or even see the sunshine. My mom’s been in a depression since the start of week two and barely says anything all day.

She just sits in the corner quietly, clutching her Bible to her chest.

“Everyone needs to get to bed,” Vincent announces as he stands. He didn’t play the last round with us, his own mood faltering today. He’s been a bit off since this morning. “It’s late, and tomorrow might be the day we all get to get out of here.”

It’s been the same hopeful statement every single day since we arrived.

Tomorrow might be the day we get out of here. What a joke. No one will even give my parents or me any clear answers as to just what is going on, and Olivia’s certainly not talking about it. She’s barely said anything to me in a month.

“Come on, Dee, let’s get you settled.” My dad stands and wraps his arm around me. I give in to the hug, breathing in the scent of his familiar embrace. Getting to spend more time with my parents has been the only good that has come out of this whole nightmare.

And hopefully, soon, we’ll be able to go back to our normal lives. I haven’t had the chance to tell them that I’ve decided to take a semester off from college so we can be together outside of this place. Maybe we can go to the lake. Spend some time fishing.

“You doing okay?” he asks me as soon as we’ve waved good night to everyone and headed down the hall toward the room I’m sharing with Olivia. We pass the closed door of the room he and my mom are in, and I long to push inside and curl up next to my mother.

“As good as I can be. You?”

“Doing okay. I never thought I’d be ready to get back to work, but here I am.”

I laugh. “That’s how I feel about studying.”

“What a pathetic pair we are,” he replies with a gentle squeeze. “I love you, kiddo. You know that, right?”

“I do. Always.”

“Good.” He leans in and presses a kiss to my forehead. “See you in the morning.”

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