Peyton released a shaky breath and the mask of pain shifted on her face. As relief seeped through my veins, I allowed myself a quick inhale and watched as her mouth relaxed, the tension disappearing from her forehead.
A moment later, her eyes opened. Emotions swirled within the blue-gray depths, awe, fascination, a lingering of pain, and a few I was afraid to name. Then she smiled and four words I hadn’t heard since my grandfather died, four words that would change my life forever, passed her lips.
“I love you, Justin.”
SATURDAY, MAY 31ST
1 week until Graduation
?Senior Year
PEYTON
GALVESTON BEACH HOUSE 3:02 A.M.
“Hey.”
I blink my bleary eyes and attempt to focus on the fuzzy form in front of me. It doesn’t work. It’s been a long night of trying to figure out what this robot wanted. Most recently, that was a bottle and a diaper change, followed immediately by another bottle and burping. Do real babies eat and poop this much? I only just got the thing to settle down. I’m exhausted, stressed, and partially deaf. My ears won’t stop ringing from the crying.
Yawning, I gently prop the blessedly silent baby in a borrowed car seat, dig my fists into my eyes and rub, then try again. A sleep-mussed Justin materializes with a tired grin.
“How ya doing?” He whispers the question, almost like it’s a real baby and not a robotic demon, and for some reason, it makes me smile. The annoying little sucker sure cries like it’s real.
“Peachy.” I heave the slightly off-hinge laugh of the sleep deprived, and scratch the skin on my wrist beneath the sensor bracelet. “He’s woken up twice so far, and the last time was just brutal. Lauren’s off baby-duty tonight, and threatened to shake ours, so I figured I’d come hang out here.” I lean my head against the impossibly soft sofa cushion, my heavy eyelids half-closed before a worrisome thought comes to me. “God, I didn’t wake you, did I?”
“Nah.” Justin shifts his weight, almost looking nervous. “I just figured you could use a pick me up.” He glances down and for the first time I notice a movie-sized box of chocolate almonds and a twenty-ounce bottle of Sprite near his hip. My greedy eyes widen with excitement. “I’m hoping I got the candy right.”
“Please. Like you ever get anything wrong,” I tease, making grabby hands at the gift of chocolate like it’ll be my last meal. Sugar rushes are the cure-all to exhaustion… well, at least until the eventual crash. But right now, I’m all about the instant gratification.
A sad expression washes over Justin’s face. “Sometimes,” he says softly, his gaze dropping to the floor. “Sometimes I get things horribly wrong.”
An awkward silence descends.
I’m not sure how I’m supposed to respond to that, so I rip into the shrink-wrapped plastic of the candy. A strange urge to comfort him tenses my arms. The truth is, whether there’s a miracle detail that’ll somehow change things between us or not, he did get it wrong freshman year. He hurt me—no, he destroyed me. There’s never an excuse for that.
Releasing a heavy sigh, Justin pads over to the sofa. With the car seat on the cushion near the wall, I’m sprawled out in the middle… which leaves only one cushion left. The one right beside me. Glancing at the empty seat, it suddenly looks as if it’s shrunk during our short chat.
Justin sits and my senses instantly go on high-alert. Phantom tingles explode across my thigh, and I inhale, needing to calm my nerves. The sharp scent of mint clouds my head, almost making me dizzy. Mint is forever linked with Justin. It’s his scent. For about a year after we broke up, a mere whiff would send me into hysterics. Now, it just leaves me feeling confused. And a bit sad.
“Thanks for this,” I say, shaking the box in his direction. “You want some?”
He nods and I pour a few decadent morsels into his extended hand. A really fat one plops in the center of his palm, the holy grail of chocolate—the magic twofer—and he laughs, a low rumble of a chuckle that causes the fine hairs on my arm to stand on end.
“Here.” Justin scoops up the piece and hands it over with a grin. “You know you want it.”
For a nanosecond, I debate not accepting it… but, of course, I do. Come on, it’s a twofer! It’s like snagging one of Wonka’s Golden Tickets.
“You rock.” I pop the candy into my mouth and close my eyes, moaning my gratitude. When Justin chuckles again, I elbow him in the side. “You know, you can head on back to bed. I’ve got this now. This should keep me happy through the next crying fit. Besides, you’re on overnight duty tomorrow.” I peel open my eyelids and smirk. “Best be storing up that beauty sleep.”
Justin lifts his arms in a long, exhausted stretch and kicks his feet onto the coffee table. Nope, no need for beauty sleep on his end. I glance down at my frumpy pajamas and sigh.