Page 54 of Shatterproof

The corner of his lip curls upward as he tilts his head to the side. “Is that why T is convinced you’re gonna need a new liver before you’re forty?”

A less than innocent expression appears on my face. “Maybe…”

Laughter leaves us both prior to Slater investigating further, “Anything else?”

“No.” Adjusting my head on the pillow is executed between sentences. “Those two things always do the trick.”

“Alright, well, I ain’t givin’ you tequila,” he sweetly denies, “but I got a trick that might work.”

“There’s still booze in a hot toddy, Cowboy.”

“I’m aware, Angel Cake.” More chuckles bounce between us. “And it’s not somethin’ you drink.”

“Eat?”

“Nope.”

Intrigue instantly gets my already whirling mind moving faster. Unfortunately for me, before I can continue our guessing game, my best friend back tracks the direction he came. Sounds of cabinet doors opening and closing further build my curiosity yet rather than yell out or interrupt, I simply wait.

Impatiently.

But I do wait rather than sneak out of bed to figure it out.

When Slater finally returns, he parks himself on the floor beside me and proudly lifts the object into view.

“A candle.” Not shitting on his idea is a struggle I hope he can’t hear. “Your…solution is…a candle?”

“Affirmative.”

“Is it like a magical aroma?” Quirking an eyebrow quickly occurs on another thought. “Is it one of those tactical candles that releases a subduing scent for honeypot assignments?!”

The faintest smirk touches his lips as he meets my stare. “It’s a prayer candle.”

Huh.

No idea where this is going.

“You know when I was little my ma used to light one of these for me every night.” He wistfully twirls the object in his possession. “It was part of our routine. Bath. Teeth. Book. Candle.” It’s impossible to ignore the sparkle in his speech. “Without fail. She’d light it. Ask the angels to protect me while I slept. And then kiss me goodnight.” His twisting action suddenly slows down. Almost completely ceases. “See, I was their miracle. I wasn’t supposed to survive to full term, and my ma was so scared of losin’ me that every night while she was pregnant, she’d light a candle and ask the angels to protect me while she slept. And then when I was finally born – against the odds – she went down to the hospital chapel every night before she would try to go to sleep and lit a candle, askin’ for them to protect usbothwhile we slept. They had told her chances were that I wasn’t goin’ to make it out of the hospital due to the fact I had trouble breathin’ as a result of underdeveloped lungs, so she was even more terrified of closin’ her eyes. She was scared she’d fall asleep with a son, only to wake up without one.”

I didn’t know that.

Hell, I would’ve never assumed he was anything other than a perfectly healthy baby boy considering I know how physically strict the special ops divisions of the military are.

It means he beat the odds again.

Doing what he does best.

Defying logic every chance he gets.

“And after I was taken, she went to my room, lit a candle, and said a prayer, askin’ for the angels to protect me while I slept.Every. Night.” Watching the hue of his words shift has me thoughtlessly reaching over and delivering a gentle stroke to his bare shoulder. “And every night that I was trapped in that fuckin’ basement…scared…beaten…and completely alone, I would look up at the night sky through the tiny window out at the stars. Except…I told myself they weren’t stars.” He allows his gaze to meet mine. “That they were candles. Candles my ma had lit for me. Candles she had lit askin’ the angels to continue to protect me and toremind methat regardless of how fuckin’ terrified I was…things would someday be okay.”

Unfathomable sadness surges itself through my vocal cords cutting off my ability to speak.

“And I know the reasonyoucan’t sleep – whether you wanna admit it or not – is becauseyou’rescared.”

Tears threaten to build in the rims of my eyelids.

“But it’s okay to be scared.”

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