Page 71 of You Had Me At Thirteen

He tilts his head, one gold and emerald eye peeking down at me. ‘You’re wearing your pyjamas.’

‘Well, I didn’t have time to change. My priority was getting here.’

‘Why? You hate me.’

No, I don’t. Not even close. ‘I don’t hate you… But something is wrong and I want to help. Do you want to talk about what happened?’

He laughs then. A cold laugh that sends goosebumps covering my body. ‘You want to help? No-one can fucking help. It’s all hopeless…’ He hangs his head in his hands and covers his face, his shoulders shaking.

Shit. Is he crying?

I rub my hand up and down his thigh to soothe him, while my heart is breaking for him.

He sniffs, then shoves the palms of his hands into his eye sockets. ‘It’s not fair.’ He slams his hands against the steering wheel, making me jump when he sets off the horn.

‘What’s not fair? Please, just tell me. I want to help you, but you have to talk to me.’

I want him to open up to me, but I don’t want to push him so far that he completely shuts down. The best way to handle this is to let him lead the way.

He lets his arms hang loose in his lap, his voice a whisper. ‘You can’t help. I thought I was doing the right thing, but now I know it was all for nothing.’

Lifting his shirt, he wipes his nose and face with it, then lets it fall back into place before he presses his forehead to the steering wheel again, setting off the car horn a second time. My heart jumps into my throat, whereas Wren looks as though he’s asleep.

‘Then let me be here for you,’ I say as I pull him away from the steering wheel.

What I said is the truth. I know that much. Even when he pushes me away, I still want to be close to him in whatever way I can. And right now, he needs me. I can see it in the way he looks at me, like I’m the lighthouse guiding him safely to shore.

With his face cupped in my hands, I rub my thumbs under his eyes. ‘Let me be here.’

He sniffs, his eyes roaming my face, before he nods.

‘Yeah?’ I give him a small smile. ‘Well, let’s get you home, then.’

He only nods again, so I stand, motioning for Koby to come over. All three of them come, so I plant myself in front of Wren, blocking their view of him so they don’t set him off again.

‘Can you drive Wren’s car back?’ I say to Koby.

‘I’ll drive,’ Emerson says, then turns to Koby. ‘You take Audrey home.’

Koby nods and wraps his arms around Audrey’s shoulders, giving her temple a quick kiss. My heart twinges. If only I could have that.

Audrey hugs me before she leaves with Koby. Then Emerson helps me move Wren from the front to the back, which is no easy feat considering he’s dead weight. Even with Emerson’s strength, it takes both of us a good couple of minutes.

Wren grabs my wrist when I attempt to shut the door, so I climb in next to him, letting him lay his head in my lap, as Emerson climbs into the front seat and starts the car.

‘If you crash my car, I’ll fucking end you,’ Wren says, his voice hoarse.

Emerson chuckles. ‘Yeah, yeah.’ He looks at me in the rear-view mirror with a wink and a grateful smile, one I can return.

These boys are nothing like I imagined. They’ve all got these fronts they put up, but beneath the surface is this love for each other, one that keeps them together. It’s how I imagine a family should be.

Emerson steers the car from the dirt drive out onto the main road. There are no streetlights out here. There’s not much of anything, except farmland and the occasional dead animal stinking up the side of the road.

My focus remains on Wren as I run my fingers through his hair in soothing motions. In this position, he’s so vulnerable, and I’m not sure anyone has ever been this close to him before. Physically, yes. But, not emotionally. This is big, and I can’t help but feel like I’m the only one ever to see Wren Stevenson for who he really is. And it’s not the egotistical dick I thought. There’s something pure and loving and great inside of him, but he won’t show that side, and I don’t know why.

Emerson pulls up in Wren’s driveway about ten minutes later and shuts the car off. When Wren doesn’t stir, I give his shoulder a slight shake to wake him. His soft snores let me know he’s out of it, but with another shake, he groans before pushing himself up. He fumbles around with the door handle, before shoving his whole body against the door. It swings open, sending Wren face-planting onto the ground.

I rub my forehead. This is going to be a mission.

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