Page 50 of Moonflower

“No more lies, Moonflower,” I say. It comes out gently yet firmly, and this time I’m able to sift out the bitterness.

She swallows. Pauses. Then, “I cry myself to sleep a lot. Quietly, because I never wanted Matt to hear. And it made me feel so lonely. But then I’d tell myself that I deserved it for keeping you and Ez at arm’s length. And then that would make me cry even more because I missed you but I feel like I don’t deserve this.” She gestures from me to Ezra. “Like you two deserve better.”

Clenching my jaw, I bite back the immediate response that pops into my head. Chiding her won’t make her believe me. I need to come at this from a gentler, more patient angle. That’s what Cora has always needed. Kindness with a hint of logic.

“What makes you think you won’t be enough?” I work to keep my voice even and open.

“Because there’s only one of me. And I . . . I hurt you both.”

“You’ve been forgiven for the latter,” I say, pressing a kiss to her hair. I’ll remind her however many times she needs it. “As for the former, there’s only one of you, but there’s three of us.”

“I’m not that bad at math,” she grouses. Then she frowns. “Or maybe I am. I don’t get what you’re saying.”

“Ez and I. We don’t just have you. We have each other. Always have, always will. Just because we aren’t romantically or sexually attracted to each other doesn’t mean we aren’t life partners. We are. And Ezra and I will always be there for each other the way we’re there for you and you’re there for us.”

As she listens, her brows furrow. And after a minute, she says, “I’ve never thought of it like that before.”

“But you did. It’s how you thought of us before yesterday. And you never thought you weren’t enough then.”

“That’s different!”

I shake my head. “I’ve never been able to find an end to your love, Cora. You’ve always had enough for me and Ez, just like he’s always had enough for us and I’ve always had enough for you two. That won’t change just because we’re acting on our feelings.”

She opens her mouth to protest, but then she snaps her mouth shut. My logic is sound. I’ve got her, and she knows it.

“That makes sense,” she says grudgingly.

“And you—” I squeeze her as I say it, “—are worthy of all the happiness the entire universe has to offer. You’re not selfish for wanting to love two men, Cora. It’s going to be harder on you, if anything. We’re both pains in the ass.”

She groans. “Don’t I know it.”

“Jokes aside, my point still stands. It’s not selfish of you. If anything, it’s the opposite. And it’s not selfish to want our love. You’ve had it since we were kids.”

Her eyes glisten with tears. I kiss her to try to distract her, but when I pull away, her cheeks are wet.

“Hey,” I murmur, swiping my thumb over her cheeks. “What’s going on in your head?”

“I love you,” she says, her voice breaking.

“Fuck.” I wrap my arms around her as best I can in our position. “I know that, Cora. I know.”

“I don’t want you guys to go home tomorrow, Wild.” She curls her fingers into my shirt, burying her face in my chest.

“I know.” Kissing the top of her head, I wonder if it would be too unhinged to make her come home with us. I know the answer immediately—she needs to stay here. To finish out school and to spend more time with her new friends.

Still, I’m a little worried. Five hours isn’t that long, but what happens if she needs us? Like, quickly? Then all of a sudden five hours is a really long time.

And what if something happens with Matt while we’re at home? What if he tries to break in or something? I don’t know him well enough to make a good judgment on if he’d do something like that. He didn’t protest much yesterday, but that’s because he had me and Ezra threatening him. What happens when he knows we’re gone?

“If Matt bugs you, I need you to let us know,” I say lowly.

She sighs. “He texted me while we were . . .” Her cheeks turn bright pink. “. . . in the graveyard.”

My whole body tenses involuntarily. “What did he want?”

“I don’t know, really. He said that it wasn’t fair that I kicked him out like that. That I should let him move back in. I don’t think he got the implication that I’m with you two now.”

Shit. “Was he on the lease?”

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