Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 89224 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 446(@200wpm)___ 357(@250wpm)___ 297(@300wpm)
I use his bicep as a pillow and curl into his chest, with my knees up against his abs. He cups the back of my head, wrapping his free arm around me and cocooning me in the safety of his arms. The memory of all I’ve lost feels a lot more bearable as I press my face into his chest and breathe him in. And even though it shouldn’t, that scares the hell out of me.
I wake suddenly from a nightmare I haven’t had in years, and I know I’m alone before I even open my eyes or reach my hand out across the cool sheets. It’s dark, the only light coming from the streetlamp outside the window.
Sitting up, I look toward the bathroom and see the door open and the light off. I think about staying in bed, but the dream is still clinging to me, making me restless. I toss back the blanket and get up, wanting or maybe even needing to seek Miles out. When I walk out of the bedroom, I scan the living room and kitchen—both empty.
The house is quiet and dark, but then I see a light coming from the short alcove between the bedrooms. Padding across the living room, my steps falter. If he’s awake and working, he probably won’t want to be disturbed. I turn and start to walk back to the bedroom.
“Hey.”
At that quietly spoken word, I look over my shoulder and find him standing in the doorway, a blue light glowing behind him.
“Sorry, I was just going to get some water,” I lie, and he holds out his hand. Without thinking, I walk to him, and he pulls me against his bare chest.
“What woke you up?” he asks at the top of my head, and I squeeze my eyes closed.
“Just a dream.”
“About?”
“My mom.”
As he drags in a deep breath, his chest expands, and his arms tighten around me. “I’m glad you told me about your parents, but I wish I hadn’t dredged that up for you.”
“I’m okay.” I tip my head back and look up at him. “Are you working?”
“I couldn’t sleep and didn’t want to wake you.” He sighs, and I wonder if it was my demons or his that kept him up. Letting his arms fall away, he takes my hand and walks me toward the bedroom. “Do you want to finish that movie?”
“Sure.” I shrug, climbing back into bed and handing him the remotes from the nightstand on my side. It doesn’t take long for him to get the movie pulled up, and I settle against his side, resting my head on his chest as he leans back against the headboard. As the movie plays, his breathing evens out, and his hold on me loosens.
Peeking up at him from under my lashes, I find him asleep with his lips slightly parted and almost laugh when he snores, the sound cute coming from him and a complete contradiction to who he is. Smiling, I snuggle back into his side, sliding my hand farther across his waist, and I stay like that until my eyelids get too heavy to keep open, and I eventually fall asleep.
CHAPTER 24
emma
As I stand in the middle of the living room in Miranda’s old apartment, I look at the boxes surrounding me. All of them with the tape ripped open and the contents inside spilling out onto the floor. Gritting my teeth, I close my eyes. For the last four nights, I’ve woken up from a recurring nightmare that feels so real I swear I’m back there, back in the moment I walked into my mom’s bedroom and found her dead. And since Miles has insisted on me staying over every night while Hazel is in town and I haven’t put up a fight, I’ve ended up waking him each time.
This afternoon, when I spoke to my sister about the dream, she suggested I look through the photo album I have of our family, thinking that maybe replacing the images in my head with happier times will help. I’m not sure it will, but at this point, I’m willing to try anything, because even if Miles hasn’t said anything, I know it’s wearing on him.
I can see the concern and guilt on his face every time he flips on the light after I’ve jerked awake. Like he believes that him asking about my parents brought the dreams on. And maybe it did, but in my gut, it feels like something else—like a warning from my subconscious that I shouldn’t let myself fall as hard or as fast as I’m falling for Miles, or that woman in that bed might one day be me.
I swallow, feeling sick to my stomach.
Opening my eyes, I scan the boxes once more, then go to where I left my cell phone in the bedroom. Somehow, I forgot to pack the picture album when I was moving out of Eli’s apartment, which means I have no choice but to get in touch with him, so I can get it back.