Page 89 of Freestyle
And something in me just…stills.
All the noise, all the weight from the last hour, Remy’s questions, my own fraying edges, the storm we’re trying to keep off her doorstep, it quiets the moment I see her.
I hadn’t realized how much I’d needed that.
Not her laugh, not her touch. Justher. Existing. Breathing. Taking up space in a world that tried to make her small.
She shifts, pulling my hoodie tighter around her body. My scent still probably lingers in the sleeves like I’m marking her. Her legs bounce with anxious energy, but her eyes scan the crowd like she’s searching for someone.
Me.
It hits deep and sudden.
I’m already walking before I know it, faster than necessary, hands shoved in my pockets to keep from reaching out too soon.
She looks up right then, like she felt it. My stare, the pull, all of it and when her eyes find mine, something about her face softens.
There it is again, that quiet wreckage in my chest that only she can cause.
She stands, brushing invisible lint off her jeans, the straps of her bag slipping from one shoulder. She doesn’t smile, not the big kind anyway, but her lips tilt at the edges like she’s maybe glad I’m here.
“Hey,” she says when I reach her, her voice soft but steady.
“Miss me?” I ask.
She rolls her eyes. “You were gone for like an hour.”
“Still counts.”
We fall into step like we didn’t spend the weekend wrapped in something that felt too good to be temporary. My hand brushes hers once. Twice. Then I let it fall into place, fingers catching hers like gravity did all the work.
We’re halfway to the house when the words start crawling up the back of my throat. I chew on them for a few steps, tasting the weight of what I’m about to say.
She’s watching the sidewalk with her fingers still looped in mine like she forgot to let go. Or maybe she just doesn’t want to.
The wind flicks her hair across her cheek, and I catch it gently, tucking it behind her ear.
“Hey,” I say, voice lower now. “Can I ask you something?”
She nods,guarded but open.
“The notes,” I say carefully. “The ones we found... why didn’t you tell anyone?”
She’s quiet. Too quiet, like the air just tightened around her ribs.
I stop walking, pulling her gently to a halt with me. “I’m not judging. I just—” I sigh. “I’ve been trying to understand.”
Her gaze drops to the pavement. “Because I didn’t want to make it real.”
My chest tightens.
She swallows hard. “The first one I thought was maybe a prank. The second one, I hoped was a coincidence. By the time I couldn’t pretend anymore… I figured no one would believe me. Or worse, they would.” She looks up then, eyes glassy but furious. “And then I’d have to live in that reality all over again.”
I nod slowly, stepping closer. “You don’t have to explain it away, sunshine. You don’t owe me that part of yourself.”
Her lip trembles once. “You and Gray didn’t even blink. You just… acted. Like you’d been waiting for someone to hurt me.”
I reach up, touch her jaw, and tilt her face toward mine. “We weren’t waiting for someone to hurt you.”
