Page 139 of Scattered Glitter

Enjoying the warmth of his touch, I let myself get lost in my thoughts.

Oscar Lane showed him that when he was a teen.

The Lanes don’t seem like the kind of people who keep just anyone close without a reason. And Nicholas said his last name was Walker, not Lane.

“How do you know the Lanes?” I turn in his arms to face him. “I don’t get the connection.”

“It’s a long and not-so-nice story.” Sylus sighs, pulling back slightly. “Sure you wanna hear it?” I nod. “I’ll give you the short version, then…” He pauses, eyes darkening. “I grew up in a rough place. My dad was an alcoholic, and… well, let’s sayabusivedoesn’t cover it. My mom couldn’t handle it, so she mostly stayed out of it, left me to deal with him.” His hand tightens on my hips, and his jaw flexes. “I got into fistfights a lot and started hacking when I was a teenager. It was my escape. I started off small, but then I got into some serious shit. Hacking major corporations, even the military.”

He gives a half-smile, a mix of pride and regret. “Eventually, I got caught. And that’s where Ezra came in. He saw something in me, I guess. Offered me an out. Help the police instead of going to juvie. So, I did. Spent years tracking cybercriminals, patching security gaps, things like that. Ezra uncovered what I was dealing with at home, so he took me to Oscar’s. Oscar had taken him in when he was a child, and the twins started living with him after their mom and sister died. It was… a family he built from all the broken pieces.”

His eyes soften, and there’s a small, genuine smile. “Oscar told me I was the newest addition. Took me in as if it was no big deal. And I don’t know… I went from liking them to caring to loving them. They’re my family now. They saved me.”

I feel a twinge of something, empathy, maybe, or recognition. The way he talks about finding family in broken pieces hits close, closer than I’d like. I haven’t experienced having someone swoop in and make life feel safe and stable, but I can imagine it. Oscar sounds like the kind of person I might have wanted in my corner when everything fell apart, even if I’d never admit it out loud. I love it for Sylus, though. That someone saw young him and made him feel safe. I can’t remember ever feeling like that—safe enough to relax, grateful enough to let my guard down.

Although he’s trying to be that person for me.

Isn’t he?

“That’s…” I trail off, searching for something,anything, to say. “A lot.”

“Your turn.” He looks at me a little too optimistically. “Want to share some of your sad backstory too?”

A part of me wants to tell him. The lonely woman deep inside wants to crack herself open and let it all spill out, the same way I wanted to with Koen while shopping when I let myself believe, if only for a second, that maybe it was safe to share. But looking at Sylus now, his hopeful, open expression, something stops me cold. It’s not even about trust. It’s about that other kind of silence, the kind that’s grown roots around what hurts, burying it so deep I don’t know if I could ever dig it out again.

The words that threatened to bubble up dissolve before they can find their way out. “No, thank you,” I respond, keeping my tone light, and his face falls.

“All right.” He gives me a small, understanding smile and brushes a light kiss against my lips. “Let’s get you home, baby.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Alaric

Jinx settles on my lap, her warm weight a comfort, especially as the sound of everyone around me starts to feel too loud, a static buzzing in the back of my mind. Levi is sitting cross-legged on the floor, tossing treats to Pebble, who hops around, cooing in that happy little way of hers. Koen is stretched out on the couch, one arm slung lazily over the back, while Ezra is sprawled on the other end, watching me with that curious, expectant look.

Somehow, just sitting here, being here for our usual Sunday movie evening, is more exhausting than anything else I’ve done all day.

Which, admittedly, wasn’t much.

I barely left my room, opting to sulk inside my head. My thoughts circled back toherthis morning, more often than I expected, especially since I’d gotten barely more than a glimpse—just a figure from the back. Her long brown hair peeking out from under the helmet Sylus slid onto her head. She’d been drowning in some oversized hoodie and baggy sweatpants, a look that should’ve been easily forgettable but somehow wasn’t.

Maybe it’s the mystery of her more than anything that’s hooked me, especially after I found out about her previous relationship with Sylus. It’s crazy how small the world is sometimes. Koen, Ezra, and I talked last night while trying to get Levi to drink some water after their night out, and they mentioned how she and Sylus had an ongoing fling before the twins found her. They only realized the connection last night.

Sylus, of all people.

Oscar used to say the people who were meant to be in your life would find their way there, no matter how improbable it seemed. Sometimes, I think he was right.

Life scattered our deck of cards all over the ground when Oscar died, and somehow, we have picked up a new one as we work to put our family back together.

We’ll find out soon enough if she’s a true fit.

Even earlier, when I was in my room with the door shut and only her text messages from last night for company, it felt as though she was right there.

And I don’t even know what she looks like.

I only emerged from those walls because Koen knocked on my door earlier, talking about dinner, about how nice it would be if I joined them, and before I could find an excuse to refuse, he was already leading me down to the kitchen.

The persuasive bastard.

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