Page 67 of The Masks We Wear

“But she’s leaving us.” Blaze tips his can at me before chugging it back, a grin just visible behind the rim.

Asshole.

I hadn’t told my aunt about my plans for Kentucky. Really, I just wanted to enjoy the next six months and make up for as much lost time as possible. But sure, why not rip off the bandaid now.

“Kentucky,” I clip.

“Why?” My aunt straightens her spine, her soft features scrunching as though she’s in physical pain. “Your father mentioned you’d be local, but he didn’t tell me where.”

Solace.

“Yeah, I wanted to, but I can’t afford it, and I don’t want to give him something to hold over my head later.I may not be in your life, but I paid for your education,” I mock what I think my dad would say.

It’s dumb, I know. Amora has told me time again to use the man for his money and call it a day. She suggested opening my own practice and paying him back, but what’s the point? He won’t accept it, and in the end, I’ll still feel like he’s contributed in some way. I don’t expect my aunt to understand.

So it surprises the shit out of me when she does.

“Entiendo. I get it, I do. So what’s in Kentucky?”

“Cheer.”

Mina’s eyes widen, the honey lining them sparkling under the fluorescent kitchen lighting. “I see.”

I bite the inside of my cheek, not sure what to make out of that. I know I can go anywhere for cheer, but I wanted to prove that I could make the cut when I chose Kentucky. Ride with the best of the best. Prove my mother wrong.

Hell, It’s not like I haven’t played with the idea of going to a community college and just scrap my plan altogether, but something about it felt like failing. And I’ve worked too hard to have failure creep into my garden, poisoning all the other plants.

“Well, it’s fine. I’ll help you pick out your dorm stuff, and you’ll come back on holidays and stuff, right? And I mean, I can always visit.”

Blaze and I exchange a glance, and right then, I see it. The shine in his gaze. The silent nod of approval. And that’s all I need. Tears fumble from my eyes like sheets of rain. My heart jackhammers in my chest, making me vaguely wonder if I’m having an anxiety attack.

Mina whirls around the bar, embracing me in her arms, squeezing every last salty tear from my head. Blaze’s large hand meets the small of my back, and he rubs in little circles as my aunt rocks me back and forth.

It’s overwhelming to feel such pure, real love oozing out of people. There’s a type of vulnerability you have to have to receive it properly. You have to be willing to open your heart and trust, those people won’t stomp all over it.

But that’s the thing about love. Even if youhave been hurt by it before, the majority of people are willing to crack open their chest and try again. Because once you’ve felt it, you crave it.

My eyes shift of their own accord to the dark house in the backyard. The aura surrounding it feels different. It’s unusually dark, and something as equally cold as the snow outside drifts overhead.

Maybe it’s because of how we ended things last week. There was a sort of finality to everything. To us.

But I do wonder... would Spencer Hanes be willing to open his chest again? Would I?

“MERRYCHRISTMAS.”Amora’s extremely high tone pierces through the down comforter covering my face. The bed shifts as she pounces on top, narrowly missing my ankles. “It’s like ten, Lil. Why are you still asleep?”

“Because I’m eighteen years old, and I don’t have presents waiting for me under the tree.”

“Yeah.” She yanks the soft cotton from my face. “But you do have a badass aunt that just made us breakfast.”

I groan at the sudden influx of light, but then the smell hits me, and my stomach does a somersault, jolting me upright. It’s sweet—definitely bacon and syrup are involved.

My aunt Mina’s been a dutiful caregiver during her four-week stay, and to say I’m excited it’s becoming permanent is the understatement of the century. She works for a marketing company, and luckily the majority of it is done by emails, phone calls, and random turnaround meetings. The one day she had to take a trip to Oklahoma, I just about lost it. It felt like a year since the last time I had to cook a meal, so Blaze and I ordered out instead.

He’s been around a lot too. Spending the night in our guestroom down the hall, soaking up every bit of maternal love Mina’s giving out. She must sense he needs it because she takes care of him like he really is my brother. She even fussed at him for barely passing one of his finals. So it’s no surprise when I finally roll out of bed and down into the kitchen, he’s already at the table shoveling an absurd amount of pancakes down his throat.

“Caveman,” Amora clips, climbing on a barstool.

Blaze ignores her and instead lifts his eyebrows in greeting to me before turning back to his feast. My aunt spins merrily in the kitchen, plating an equally insane amount of food on our plates.

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