Page 21 of Legally Ours

"But––"

"Skylar?"

He turned around, and his piercing blue gaze met my green. He looked tired again; his large body sagged with grief and stress...and maybe guilt too. Like he was literally carrying the world on his shoulders.

I bit my lip. His eyes caught the motion. A muscle in his jaw twitched, but then he sighed.

"Let's just...give it a rest for tonight, all right? We'll talk more tomorrow."

Wordlessly, I nodded.

"You need help getting back to your room?"

I glanced at the crutches behind me, then at my plate of pasta, still mostly full on the counter.

"No," I said. "I think I'll try to eat a little bit more before I go to bed."

Satisfied, Brandon nodded. The idea seemed to make him feel a bit better.

"Okay," he said. "You have a good night, Skylar. I'll see you in the morning."

It was only after he was gone, and I was left alone, spooning the bright red spaghetti sauce and brooding over the fact that we were sleeping separately, that one thing occurred to me. Not once during our entire exchange had he called me anything but my given name. Not baby. Not gorgeous. And not Red.

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