Page 45 of A Perfect Match
The tears I've been holding back all day finally fall.
I already lost my dad.I’m not ready to lose my mom, too.
That cracks me open.The tears rush hot and fast.My face falls into my hands, shoulders shaking as the emotion heaves through me.I'm fully sobbing when a soft voice breaks through the darkness.
"Piper?What’s wrong?"
I look up to see Kru standing at the fence, concern etched across his face.I hastily wipe at my tears, but it's too late—he's already realized what’s going on.
Without a word, he vaults over the fence in one smooth motion.He’s at my side in seconds.
"What happened?"he asks, crouching down beside me.
I draw a shaky breath.I don’t know if I have the strength to tell him everything.“My mom…her bakery caught fire…” My words are punctuated with hiccupping sobs.“And…she was inside…”
Suddenly his thick arms are around me, pulling me against his chest.He’s all solid heat, the scent of firewood and cedar sinking deep into me.My brain weakly protests—you don’t need him, you shouldn’t be relying on your rival.
But my heart knows better.I melt into him, letting his warmth seep into my bones.
"She's going to be okay," he murmurs into my hair."Your mom’s gotta be a fighter, if she’s anything like the daughter she raised."
His sweet words prompt more tears, but for a different reason altogether.I draw deep breaths, relishing the scent of Kru that laces through my senses.The sobbing subsides to mere sniffles.
"She is," I whisper."But not knowing…I just can’t stand the thought that maybe she’s…she’s…I can’t even say it.”
"I know."He rubs gentle circles on my back."I know."
We sit like that for a long time, his arms around me, my head buried in the front of his chest.He doesn’t make a move to leave…and neither do I.The comfort of his embrace is something I didn't know I needed.I burrow deeper against him.I want to stay like this for as long as possible.Before my rational mind or the real world catches up to us.
"I saw the fire trucks on my way home," he says eventually."I had no idea…"
The simple admission—that he noticed something was wrong in town—makes me realize that he’s partof Bayshore too.Which brings a fresh wave of conflicting emotions.Part of me hates that he's here, disrupting my Bayshore cocoon.Another part is starting to wonder if I even want him to leave.
"When's the last time you ate?”he asks suddenly.
I try to remember."I had a bite of something in the ER waiting room.”
"Wait here."He gently untangles himself from me.
Before I can protest, he's jogging to the fence.He launches himself over easily, and while he’s gone, I finally notice how chilly it is out here.I bring my knees to my chest, wishing for his arms around me again.He returns a few minutes later with a paper baggie in one hand and a blanket over his shoulder.He sits down beside me on the lounger again, draping the blanket over both our laps.Then he peels back the brown paper and pulls out a sandwich.
"Have this,” he says."Nothing fancy, but it's protein and carbs."
The simple gesture—making me a sandwich when I'm too distraught to think about food—cracks something open inside me.This is Kru, my supposed rival, the man who's turned my life upside down.And yet here he is, taking care of me in the most basic, human way.I take a bite and my eyes flutter shut.It’s a deli meat sandwich, but it’s more than that too.He’s got some special sort of mayo—that has to be it.And are these sprouts on here?
"Thank you," I say when I’m done chewing, my voice thick with emotion.I can’t stop the next words from spilling out.“We got sandwiches earlier and all I could think about was how I wanted your food instead.”
A warm smile curls his lips.
“And thank you for this.For…being here."
He wraps his arm around my back."Nowhere else I'd rather be."
We sit side by side on the deck while I finish off the sandwich, talking softly about nothing important—a new recipe he's testing, a mishap I had with a batch of marshmallows earlier in the week, the weather forecast for tomorrow.Normal things, safe things, worlds away from hospitals and fires and fear.
When I swallow the last bit, exhaustion hits me like a semitruck.I can barely keep my eyes open.
"You should sleep," Kru says.
