Page 47 of ICED
“At what?”
“This. Being in someone else’s world without taking it over.”
I shrug. “Not my world to take.”
Her eyes flick to mine, warm and searching. “Thanks for today.”
“Thanks for letting me have it.”
There’s a pause. A long, quiet one.
And then she steps forward.
Not far. Just close enough that I can feel the brush of her shoulder against my chest. Close enough that if I leaned down, just a little I could kiss her.
But I don’t.
Instead, I take her hand.
Fingers laced. Palms warm.
“See you soon, Maya.”
“See you soon, Owen.”
I let go first. Because if I don’t, I might never leave.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
MAYA
The quiet after the Sunday pancake ritual feels different now. Not lonely. Not tense. Softer. Familiar in a way that unsettles me more than I want to admit.
Owen,Bear, left a couple of hours ago, after Lila settled down on the rug to watch her favourite movie. He’d helped me clean my tiny kitchen before he left, it was one of those moments where his size should’ve felt jarring in our tiny flat. But it didn’t. He fit.
I’m still thinking about the way he looked at me as he left, like he didn’t want to go. As if he’d stay if I asked.
I didn’t ask.
But I’d wanted to.
Lila’s been in bed for an hour, so now I’m sitting on the sofa with a cup of tea cooling beside me, Lila’s drawing pad in my lap. She drew him. It’s unmistakably Owen, all broad shoulders and smiling eyes and legs that taper into cartoonishly tiny feet. She’s drawn herself too, in a sparkly pink dress, holding his hand. She’s also drawn little love hearts all around them both.
My throat tightens.
I want to protect her. From disappointment. From too much hope. From everything I couldn’t shield her from before.
But what if this is okay?
The knock on the door comes just as I’m working up the courage to text him. Three short raps. Familiar rhythm.
I open it to find Owen standing there again, this time with a brown paper bag in one hand and a sheepish grin.
“Left my hat,” he says, lifting the bag. “Figured I’d swing by. Also, brought carrot cake, homemade. Thought you might need reinforcements.”
I step back to let him in, heart stupidly buoyant at the sight of him. “You left your hat on purpose, didn’t you?”
“Maybe,” he says. “I like having a reason to come back.”
