Page 16 of What Haunts the Heart
After stuffing ourselves with the diner’s generous portions—probably one of the biggest reasons they were still open, since their food was mediocre at best—Oakley insisted on paying the tab.
And, because I kind of liked being spoiled, I let him.
“Where to now?” He dropped into the passenger seat of my tiny Fiat and tried to settle in. He was so much taller than me, his knees nearly hit the dash. Even though he hadn’t complained, I knew we should probably take his car the next time we went out.
I putted through town and considered my options. “There’s a really great Halloween store two cities over. You wanna hit it up, see what we can find? Because I’m telling you now, it’s slim pickings in Vale Valley.”
He shrugged and rested his hand on my thigh with a lopsided grin. “I don’t care. Wherever you want to go, I’m happy to come along. When I’m with you, the world doesn’t seem so bleak.”
“I guess you could say I’m the sunshine of your life?” I teased.
His smile never faltered. “I guess you could.”
The entire forty-five mile drive to Granger was spent joking around and chatting about Halloween and the party Chester and Kinsley were going to be hosting.
“Chess is a basketcase about the whole thing, let me tell you,” I said. “The poor guy’s strung tight, but then again, he always has been. He used to be, like, ten times worse before he met Kinsley, though. Your brother’s chilled him out a bit. That, and having three kids—can’t stress out if you’re too exhausted, right?” I laughed.
“Kinsley mentioned Chester had a rough upbringing,” Oakley admitted. “He didn’t go into any detail, just that his family life was rocky.”
“Yeah,” I agreed. “That’s probably why we hit it off when we first met. My own childhood was a hot mess. I noped the fuck out of there after my mum passed out drunk with a cigarette in her hand and nearly burned the house down. Too many years of her bullshit. I emancipated myself at seventeen and spent a year couch-surfing before I wound up here. Best decision I ever made.”
“Wow, that’s…” He trailed off. “Hard.”
“It was hard. It was scary and for awhile, I never knew where my next meal was coming from, but let’s face it, I’m too stubborn to give up. I think I’m a better person for it, though. Sometimes, when everything you ever knew causes you that much pain, you gotta give it up. Break away, make a change. Build a new life for yourself.” I caught his eye. “I didn’t want to end up the person my mum always told me I’d be—dead-broke, desolate and alone, with kids from three different Alphaholes tugging on my sleeves.”
He cocked his head to one side, studying me. “Not all Alphas are assholes.”
“Obviously, else I wouldn’t be hanging out with you.” I paused for a moment, thinking about what I just said before the truth came out in a hush of sound. “You’re one of the good ones, Oak.”Don’t throw that away on someone you don’t love,I wanted to say, but the words refused to escape my parted lips.
Okley gently squeezed my knee, as if he’d heard my silent plea loud and clear. “So are you, Eden. So are you.”
