“And the Farringtons?”
I smiled slightly, remembering. “They came at the same time. I met Xander the first day of school and it was like we both knew what the other needed and became instant friends. They made me feel like I had brothers. Like I had a purpose because they needed someone and I was able to be there and do that for them.”
“But you still feel like an outsider sometimes.”
I looked at her sharply, surprised she could read me so easily. “Yeah. Sometimes. Even though they’ve never made me feel that way. It’s just... they’re blood. Real family.”
“I get that,” she said, and there was understanding in her voice that made my chest ache.
“Yeah?”
She nodded, looking back at the headstones. “My cousin Wren. She’s the same age as me, and we grew up together. She’s the most important person in my life. Closer than most sisters.”
“That’s good. That you have that.”
“It is. But it’s also... complicated. She has three older siblings. Real siblings. And no matter how much her family included me, how much time I spent there, I was always the cousin. The one who got to go home at the end of the day.”
“The one on the outside,” I said quietly.
“Exactly.” She looked at me, and in her eyes I saw the same loneliness I carried. “And I love them, I’m so grateful for them. But there was always this part of me that knew I was different. That I didn’t quite belong the same way. That deep down I was alone.”
“That’s exactly it.”
We stood there in the fading light, surrounded by the dead, and somehow it felt like the most alive I’d been in months. Because she understood. Because she carried the same wound I did.
Because for the first time in forever, I didn’t feel alone.
“I shouldn’t have asked to come in here,” she said finally. “This is your family…”
“No, I’m glad you did. It’s nice, actually. Sharing it with someone who... understands.”
“I do understand. More than you know.”
The moment stretched between us, heavy with meaning. With possibility.
Then she stepped back, breaking the spell. “We should probably go. It’s getting late.”
“Yeah.”
But neither of us moved for a long moment. We just stood there, looking at each other, the cemetery quiet around us.
Finally, we walked back to the truck together.
Something had shifted today. Something deeper than attraction, more fundamental than want.
We’d seen each other. Really seen each other and there wasn’t a single second when I’d felt the need to hide. Not from her.
The drive back was quieter, but it was a comfortable quiet. The kind of silence that didn’t need to be filled.
When I pulled up to Jasper’s house, Leigh gathered her camera bag and paused with her hand on the door handle.
“Thank you,” she said. “For today. For showing me these places. For...” She trailed off, but I knew what she meant.
For understanding. For being honest. For not running away.
“Anytime,” I said, and meant it.
She hesitated, like she wanted to say something else. I almost saw the moment she changed her mind.
