Page 139 of Sweetheart: Part One

Ebony said nothing, not looking at me as our bonds wound together, a closeness we’d forged over time.

It wasn’t absolute, not a perfect solution, but it was enough of a salve that it saved me. There was one wound he always fixed, even with the imperfect connection between us.

The doubt.

The never-ending sense that all of this pain wasn’t real.

I was overreacting.

It hadn’t beenthatbad, not really.

Everything I had to my name—everything I should be grateful for—came hand in hand with the part I hated.

How many people would kill to have what I had? No matter what it might cost.

When I really considered it, itwasmy fault. I’d sought them out. I’d been the one who—

The spiralling thought snapped like a brittle twig in the wind as Ebony stole that, too.

Straightforward and cold as he was, he wiped it all clean.

He gave absolute value to every foul slice of my trauma as he traded it piece by piece for his silence.

And I let him sweep me away.

VEX

“Why now?” Ebony asked. “It’s been a long time.” There was an extended silence, and it was Ebony who broke it again. “Her?”

Again, Drake said nothing.

Still in my dark closet, I didn’t know what was happening. First, it had been Ebony, slipping into the theatre and putting on a movie. I’d been pleased, if anything, the sound from the speaker drowned out the crashing thunder from outside.

But now Ebony and Drake were both out there. The movie was paused, and I didn’t know what they were doing. They were talking about me, though.

“That means she’s hurting you,” Ebony said.

Finally, I heard a choked sound from Drake. Maybe a laugh. “Only you could see this and draw that conclusion.”

Another silence passed.

“Are you…” Drake sounded unsure. “Do you not want this anymore?”

Ebony’s voice was low. Compared to his usual, I might even say it was... kind. “I could sit like this for hours.”

“Why?” Drake asked.

“Is it so hard to believe that I want to understand you better?”

“If this is the price you have to pay, then… yes?”

Ebony snorted a laugh, but there was something thick in it.

Was he…crying?

What the hell were they doing?

I didn’t realise until then how screwed I was. Ebony wasn’t the type of man who wanted people to know his weaknesses. There was no way he could know I was here—not a single chance in hell.

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