Chapter 20
Kallie
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Kallie woke with astart, disoriented by the darkness.The couch beneath her was lumpy.She sat up.The blanket half-slipped to the floor.She blinked, letting her eyes adjust.The house was quiet, and it made her chest tighten.
She spotted Finn standing near the window.She grabbed the blanket, holding it to her chest.
His rigid silhouette and tense shoulders almost hid his bowed head.The faint glow from outside traced the lines of his body.The broad back, the strong arms, the way he held himself as if braced for impact.
She pushed herself upright, rubbing sleep from her eyes."What time is it?"
He didn't turn."There's no clock in the house."
His voice was low, rough from disuse or exhaustion, she couldn't tell which.He finally stepped away from the window and crossed the room.The couch dipped under his weight.He sat close enough that she could feel his heat.
He looked straight ahead, ignoring her.But he didn't move away either.
She hesitated only a second before reaching for his hand.His fingers twitched, and he tried to pull away, but she tightened her grip, refusing to let him retreat into himself again.
"Finn," she said softly, "am I so awful that you—?"
"No."His hand was warm in hers, calloused, familiar in a way that made her chest ache."You don't understand.You're young."
"I might not understand how I can travel here, why I've been trying to get to you my whole life, or why I feel closer to you than anyone else in my life."She swallowed."But I know why I'm here."
He finally looked at her then.The intensity in his eyes made her pulse stumble.
She held his gaze."I'm here because I love you."
In her world.In the place she lived.She didn't even believe in love.
Love hurt.Love lied.Love used drugs.Love gave her away.Love passed her from one foster family to another without a second thought.
But here, with Finn, loving him was the hill she was going to die on.
The words hung between them, heavy, terrifying, and true.She had no experience of loving anyone and had never been loved in return, but she would learn.
His fingers flexed in hers.She held on.He had to trust her.
