Page 124 of True Honey
“I hate that cat,” I grumbled.
“That’s our cue, A-man. Let’s get back to the stadium and make the boys run dead sprints until they puke,” Arlo said, understanding that I needed some more time alone with Drew. I had told her I loved her and right about now all I wanted to do wasshowher.
“Sounds fun,” August said. Drew kissed his cheek and let him get off the ground, her eyes following him as they disappeared.
“Sorry,” I said to her as we heard the apartment door click shut.
“Don’t be,” she inhaled, “It’s a weird feeling being able to trust…everyone.”
“Get used to it,” I whispered, closing the gap between us. “Except Cael,” I said with a laugh. “Never trust him.”
“Noted,” she giggled and let me kiss her senseless until we were nothing but a puddle on the closet floor.
SHORE
“Are you sure you want to do this?” Drew’s brows pinched together as she fixed my tie. No matter how many times I tied it, she always fixed it.
It had been a month, the longest month of my life. Immediately after the blowup, Charles' lawyers pushed for a quick resolution. He had held steady on his not guilty statement until the sentence was laid. Twelve years in prison, with a chance of parole after five. It wasn’t the best, but it was enough.
I had asked Josh the same thing that day.
“Are you sure?” I asked, as Josh shifted uncomfortably next to Dean who looked more like his bodyguard than boyfriend. Both had dressed in clean, new suits. Dean’s broad chest rose and fell at a steady, sturdy pace at Josh’s side who was pulling at the collar of his shirt.
“Stop asking me that fucking question, Silas.” Josh growled. “I’m here. I’m ready.”
“They’re going to show her picture in there,” I said to him and his eyes snapped to mine.
“They prepped me,” he reminded me harshly, “so stop.”
“Boys, stop fighting,” Mom’s voice broke through the buzzing of the busy court building. Ryan was standing behind her, his hair and beard trimmed and his suit pressed perfectly. I clenched my jaw and sighed. “Your tie is crooked,” she said to Josh and stepped forward.
I watched him breathe in once and hold it as Mom invaded his personal space with the utmost care and fixed it. She stepped back to admire him, reaching out to give Dean apat on the cheek.
“You’re a good man,” she said to him and Dean finally cracked a smile.
“Are you ready for today?” I asked her and her smile faltered.
“If Josh is, I am.” She said, her eyes never leaving him.
“I am,” Josh answered her.
“I have to, I haven’t spoken to him since the trial ended and Mom said he’s making himself sick with guilt over what happened. If he dies and…” I trailed off. If Mom and Josh could be brave and face Charles. I could face Seymour.
“I’m just checking in,” she said, pushing up on her toes to kiss me. “Just be patient with him.”
“Since when are you a Seymour fan girl?” I teased her.
“I’m not, he’s sick. He deserves a little grace.” She argued gently.
Drew, after much deliberation and a little fighting, decided that she would go to therapy. I had suggested Riona but she refused, wanting to keep their relationship at a base level for as long as August was still spending time with Daisy. I helped her pick one from beneath the blankets on our bed. A spot I had willingly gotten very familiar with in the week that followed our blow up.
I learned quickly that once she was in it, there was no getting out. She just needed the quiet, the time to prove her own thoughts wrong and if need be, the space to restart. I gave her what I could, and took over the role of August’s sole guardian. He joined a summer workplace program at the shelter with Cosy, and Ella had lent him her bike to go to and from.
I was grateful for how much weight the rest of the Nest was willing to bear as we found our way through everything. Cael graduated Harbor with a smile on his face and Ryan cheering from the front row as he walked across the stage. Everything seemed to fall into place like it was always the plan.
Drew pressed her hand flat to my chest, done fussing with my tie.
“You should wear the other one, if Mom sees that she’ll have my head.” I said, brushing a knuckle over a tiny faded purple spot on her collarbone.
