Page 82 of The Fallacy of True Love
“Fuck. I’m sorry.”
“That’s life.” I restlessly moved my legs. “The way I think of it, my parents weren’t ready for me or they never wanted me in the first place. Whatever reasons they had, I bet I’d be worse off if they kept me and hated me all the while.” At least, that was what I told myself.
“Their loss. They didn’t get to see how amazing their daughter turned out.”
“Right.” I scoffed. “A college dropout with nothing to her name.”
“A college dropout who managed to build a career and sustain herself on her own. Someone who found friends to call family in the home that she chose.”
My chest tingled, a warmth radiating from it that was wholly different from the one I’d felt earlier. I closed my eyes and warned myself not to cry.
“That’s not nothing, Maya. That’s huge—and you get to say that it’s all on you. You did it by yourself.”
“I had help,” I managed to say around the lump in my throat.
“Great. I’m glad you did, but it doesn’t minimize what you’ve achieved.”
“You’re not gonna make me cry again.”
“I didn’t make you cry earlier.”
“But it happened while I was with you.”
“Maybe that means you’re comfortable with me already.”
I harrumphed. “I need to sleep.”
“See. Comfortable.”
Damn it, he was right. “Good luck studying.”
“Thanks. Sweet dreams, Maya.”
That name again. Why did he keep using it? And why did I keep forgetting to correct him? “It’s Cam,” I grumbled, though my words had no real heat. Somehow, hearing his version of my name didn’t seem to bother me anymore.
“Do you really not like that name?” he asked. “Because I’ll stop calling you that if you don’t.”
I started to say yes but hesitated. “I’ll think about it.” Pulling the blanket up to my chin, I turned over to dismiss him for the night.
If you’d told me I would fall asleep with a guy in a chair opposite my bed, I would have suggested getting a reality check.
But the last thing I remembered before sleep took over was Alonzo’s soft laughter…
And that I had a half-smile on my face.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Alonzo
I woke up with the worst case of back aches. My spine had never been bent into a curved position for such a long period of time. I’d bet the curve of the top of the chair was embossed in the base of my neck, and I might have reversed the final inches of my growth spurt.
But seeing Maya sound asleep in the single bed, safe, made it all worth it.
A glance at my watch told me it was a little past five, which gave me more than enough time to beat the morning rush and get home for my usual run-shower-breakfast routine.
Standing, I stretched forward and back, then side to side, fighting a groan. After shaking out the last of sleep, I checked on Maya again, only to find her staring at me.
I took a half step back. “I thought you were still sleeping.”
