Nick is already at the door. He turns back and shakes his head. “No. I found my soul over the past few days, and I’m not going to work with you and have it sucked out again.”
I follow Nick through the door and hear his father say, “If you leave this house, never come back.”
Nick walks faster toward the front door. That wasn’t fake. I look over my shoulder and then rush at him just as he’s about to step outside. “Wait!” I pull Nick’s arm and stop him. “You can’t walk out.”
“Yes, I can. It’s a step and I’m gone.”
“But, you’re a Ferro.”
“And I wish that I wasn’t. If I stay here, I know who I’ll become and it’s the man sitting behind that desk. I meant what I said up there. I lost myself, but over the past few days, you brought me back. I’m not staying here and changing who I am to please them again.” He laughs. “The Ferro fortune is cursed—the papers say that—and they’re right, because you have to give up your soul to get it. I’m done here and I’m not looking back.” Nick walks outside and takes a deep breath of night air, like he’s been a slave and now he’s a free man.
CHAPTER 34
The ride back to the store is awkwardly silent. He just threw his life away, or found it. I wonder if he has any money or if he plans on becoming a hobo. On the way, I tell him to divert to my parent’s house since they’re still at the hotel. I can’t take his store. I have no intention of doing so.
When we go inside, the smell of my childhood home hits me hard—lemons and Lysol. My mom is a clean freak. Even if I put everything back exactly where it was and make it sparkling, she’ll know we were here.
Nick looks around. “You grew up here?”
“Yeah, I’m Baby Oops. My mother kind of resents me ruining her body after she finally got it back again.”
Nick looks at the pictures on the walls. There are several of my siblings and only one of me. I’m wearing a cap and gown with a plastic smile. It’s my high school graduation picture. He notices there aren’t any others. I know he does, but he doesn’t comment on it.
We go up to my old room. It looks exactly the way it did when I left because my mother said I would fail and would need a place to go when it happened. I don’t tell Nick, but he’s moving like he’s walking on egg shells. He finally asks, “Do you want me to call Amy? Or someone to stay with you? I can’t leave you alone, Sky. Too much has happened to you today.”
I flop down on my old bed. “Then don’t. There are blankets in the closet. I call dibs on the bed.”
He makes a spot on the floor with blankets and a pillow, silently, before he turns off the light. I hear him tug his shirt off and slip under the blanket. When I roll over, I look down at him. His hands are tucked under his head and his eyes are closed. I watch him for a minute and then try to sleep, but I can’t. I keep trembling and silent sobs randomly choke me.
After a few hours, I’m sure Nick’s asleep. I slip out of my bed and lay down next to him. His eyes open and we watch each other. I finally ask, “You really love me?”
For a moment he doesn’t answer. Finally he says, “I’ll always love you.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We?” he asks, and those gemstone colored eyes look so soft, so vulnerable. He touches his pocket like he’s checking to make sure he has his wallet, but that’s not what he’s checking for.
Smiling softly, I nod. Tears form in my eyes and roll down my cheeks. “You still have my kiss in your pocket, don’t you?” He offers the most beautiful smile I’ve ever seen and those dark lashes dip before meeting my gaze again. “So, yes, we. Plus, I’m your shadow. We belong together. You can’t separate a guy from his shadow, he’ll float away.”
Nick’s eyes flick between mine intensely, before he asks, “Do you still love me? After all that? Sky, don’t do this because you pity me. I couldn’t bear that. It’s less painful to know I’ve broken things beyond repair, that I had you and lost you, than having you stick around because you feel sorry for me.” His finger swirls around the thimble in his pocket. I’m not sure he knows he’s doing it.
“It’s not pity.” I manage, certain it isn’t. After everything that happened today, I know it’s nothing like that. When Nick came out of nowhere, I wanted it to be him. When he drove me home, I wished I could lean into his side and he could wrap his arm around me, but I was too afraid, too hurt. Now he’s here and I’ve heard the whole truth and I love him more than I did before. “And I’m not taking your store.”
He grins and fiddles with the blanket. “Yes, you are. I owe you a store. Besides, they look the same. No one will notice.” He glances up at me, and I laugh.
For once, I feel like I’ve found my home and it has nothing to do with the bed or the walls. It’s the man who’s with me. Shyly, I ask the question again, searching for the truth, needing to hear it from his lips. “Do you love me?”