Page 115 of Gathered Sparkle

He pushes open the door to his room and steps inside, nudging it shut with his foot before he lowers me onto his bed, sitting beside me as he pulls me back into his chest. His hand strokes my hair in slow, soothing motions, his lips brushing against my temple. “I’ve got you.”

“I don’t deserve it. I’m not worth the hassle you guys are going through because of me.”

“Stop.” He pulls back to look at me, his thumbs wiping at the tears still streaming down my cheeks. “You’re everything. Do you hear me? Everything. You’re the bravest, smartest, most incredible person I’ve ever met.” My breath catches, and I blinkup at him, his words quieting my sobs, allowing him to continue. “You’re a fucking force, Sparkle. You walk into a room, and it changes. People notice you. They can’t help it. And yeah, sometimes you mess up, we all do, but you’re real. You’re you. And I love you for that. All of it.”

“Sylus, don’t—”

“Don’t what?” he interrupts. “Tell you the truth? I love you. I love everything about you. And I’ll be damned if I let you carry this alone. We made you do it. We pushed you into this mess. I’ll make it right for you.”

“You can’t.”

“Yes, I can.” He holds out his hand, his pinky extended. “I’ll fix this for you.”

Despite the tears, a weak laugh escapes me. “You can’t pinky promise your way out of everything.”

“Watch me.” His pinky hooks around mine, and he kisses our joined fingers before his hand moves to my cheek again, tilting my face up toward his.

His kiss is gentle at first, tender as if he’s trying to put me back together piece by piece. But then my hands find their way to his chest, clutching at him as though he’s my lifeline, and the kiss deepens. His fingers tangle in my hair, pulling me closer, and then it’s just us. No guilt. No pain. Just us.

The weight in my chest lifts enough to let me breathe again as his hands move to cradle my waist, holding me as if he’s afraid I’ll disappear. But exhaustion creeps in, heavier with every passing moment, pulling me under—a tide I can’t fight. My body feels like it’s sinking, weighed down by everything from today. The crushing guilt with Nicholas, the hope and confusion with Ace, and Sylus’s unwavering love. Hell, even the fact that I haven’t seen much of Koen today.

It’s all too much.

My default instinct claws at me, whispering the same thing it always does when I feel like this—to find release. Let someone soothe me, drown it all out with touch. But tonight, even that feels too much. My body is too exhausted to move, my limbs heavy with fatigue, and yet the ache for comfort remains, an itch I can’t scratch.

“Baby?” Sylus murmurs, pulling me from the spiral as his lips pause against mine.

“Mm-hmm,” I manage, my head tilting forward to rest against his shoulder.

He pulls my head back by my hair to look at me. “Tired?”

“Mm-hmm.”

“You can sleep.” His lips press to my temple, lingering there as a promise. “I’ll hold you.”

“I need you to do more than hold me.”

If I can’t escape this storm in my head, I need him to at least quiet the noise in my body.

“What are you saying, baby?”

“I needyou.”

His body stills as his eyes search mine for something unsaid. But even as the need for his comfort simmers beneath my skin, exhaustion wins. My eyes flutter shut, the weight of the day dragging me into the quiet darkness.

The last thing I feel is the steady beat of his heart beneath my palm, a metronome keeping me tethered to him.

His lips press another kiss to my temple.“I’ve got you.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Sylus

God, I hate that I have to spend time with this prick. But I promised Sparkle I’d fix this.

I’m standing in front of Harrington Heights, the city’s noise humming behind me, but my focus is on my phone as I type a message to the number I swiped from Koen’s phone earlier.

Bring the Mercedes and meet me outside the Heights. I’m standing by the entry of the garage. Sylus.

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