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Paul rolled his eyes but took Kennedy’s milk from her so she wouldn’t spill it. They both disappeared with Milky Way through a door and down a set of steps to what must have been a finished basement.
“They’re cute,” I offered, wondering if it counted as a lie. I hoped not. I was determined not to lie to Daniel. I was through with lies. At least I felt confident the statement was half-true.
“Cute?” Daniel blew out a breath, shaking his head. “I guess. I mean, yeah, sure.”
“You don’t think so?”
“I’m just tired.”
My heart lurched. This was what I’d come here for—to prove to him that I was worthy of being his friend, to try and repair what I’d broken.
He added cream to his mug and two spoonfuls of sugar. After shoving a hand through his hair, he took a giant gulp of his coffee. Closing his eyes and sighing as he set his mug down, he looked like he’d needed it.
I reached for my camera, the urge to fidget with the settings rising in me. I forced myself to leave it where it was and focus on Daniel. “Are you doing okay?”
“Not really. It’s been tough. All this stuff with my mom.” He met my gaze with a sad smile. “It’s having a domino effect on my life.”
“Yeah?” Maybe I’d been wrong. Talkingwasoverrated. Listening was where it was at, and it seemed like he needed an ear.
Daniel scratched at his facial scruff. It glinted in the light from the windows, thick like he hadn’t shaved yet today. Or in a few days.
“Yeah, because of the timing,” he went on. “In order to deal with the repercussions of her relapse, I took this semester off and gave up the lease on my apartment. So, I’m officially living here now.”
“Oh wow. I’m sorry. I didn’t realize…”
He shrugged. “It’s not good for me in a lot of ways. So, yeah. I could be doing better.”
“I wish you’d have called me,” I offered. “So I could’ve helped you.”
Daniel avoided my eyes and took another sip of coffee. “You’ve helped enough. With Bobby, I mean.”
And I’d helped with breaking his heart. I’d helped a lot with that.
I joined him in covering emotion with coffee. It burned my throat on the way down. “How long will it last, do you think? This problem with your mom?”
Daniel snorted. “What I wouldn’t give to know the answer tothat.” He picked up his half-eaten cookie, frowned, and took another bite before focusing his gaze out the window. “I have no idea. Things are moving fast now, and I don’t know what’s going to happen next.”
Something about his energy demanded silence. So, I ate the rest of my cookie and sipped from my mug, letting him think. He was as handsome as ever, but there was a fragility to him I’d never seen before. It made my heart ache as much as my bruised wrist still did. Again, my camera called to me, begging me to snap his expression and own it forever.
I gave in and lifted it, centering Daniel in the viewfinder. He didn’t move, though he surely saw me out of the corner of his eye. I took that for permission.
At the camera’s snick, Daniel turned back to me, giving me his full attention again. “You still know when to take a picture, don’t you?”
With heat in my cheeks, I put the camera aside.
“I’m not complaining.” Daniel reassured me before returning to the topic at hand. “All I know is I need to stay here at home for now. It’s my fault she relapsed again. I should have known better than to move out in the first place.”
I wanted to protest that he couldn’t have known and that it wasn’t his responsibility, but I didn’t think he’d be open to hearing that right now. “I’m sorry.”
Daniel’s eyes softened. “You keep saying that.”
“Yeah, sor—” I chuckled, catching myself. “I guess I don’t know what else to say.”
Daniel smiled. “I know. No one does. It’s okay.”
Caffeine and nerves made my fingers tremble, but I gave in and reached out to squeeze his fingers. I wanted to listallthe things I was sorry about—Nashville, choosing Adam over him, being an idiot—but I knew that wouldn’t be fair to him right now.
Daniel squeezed back and then let go of my hand. He put another cookie on my plate and took a second for himself.
