“Adriel?” I repeat, peeking my head inside his home to find it empty too.
Where could he be?
Did I really upset him last night asking about his curse? I thought things ended amicably at the end. He wouldn’t still be mad, right?
I stare longingly at the array of colors in his garden as the feeling of abandonment fills me to my core. It’s silly, I know. We barely know each other. And yet, I can’t help how his absence makes me feel.
Glancing down at my watch, I realize I’ll never make it back to Grandma Julia’s before she wakes up. With one final look back at Adriel’s flowers, I head off toward town hoping to come up with a plan or an excuse before I get there. But the only thoughts that flit through my mind are those of Adriel. The hurt look on his face. The pain etched into his words. My aching need to make it all better.
I’m not sure where that last thought keeps coming from since I barely know him. However, there’s no denying how I feel when I’m around him. All of which is entirely new to me. It’s so different than I felt with Sawyer, or around Abraham. Both completely different relationships, and both with older men.
Wow… I clearly have a type.
In both situations, I’ve never been the protector or the fixer. They both have always sought out to take care of me. Perhaps that’s all I'm interested in. It’s new and exciting, but there’s nothing else meeting that.
My feet carry me into town with little thought from me as I obsess over every interaction with Adriel the past two weeks. If I return home now, Grandma Julia will know I was out. So, I makemy way to the bakery to return home with a treat in tow. This will also delay my return while I think up a lie.
And thank fuck I did all of that. As soon as I unlock the door and enter Grandma Julia’s house, she’s standing in the kitchen glaring at me.
“Rami, where have you been?” she asks sternly. There’s a faint shake to her voice which could almost be construed as worry, but it must just be because she’s old.
I lift the light pink box as if that’ll atone for not telling her where I was. “I couldn’t sleep so I went for a walk. Figured while I was out I would get you some of those biscuits you like so much. When I told Cheryl Ann about the Bible study we were doing together, she even threw in your favorite strawberry jam.”
“You really told her about the Bible study?” Her eyes narrow skeptically, so I avoid her gaze and nod.
“I’m sorry if I scared you. I thought some fresh air would help.”
She takes the bakery box from me and sets it to the side before approaching me. “Why couldn’t you sleep?” She presses the back of her hand against my cheek and then my forehead. “Not coming down with something are you?” The softness in her tone feels almost like a warm embrace. As if she really is the doting grandmother she thinks she is.
Out of instinct, I lean into her touch. Warmth blossoms along my skin where she touches and that sensation travels straight to my chest. Part of me wants to squash it down, kill it now and protect myself. But the loudest part is relishing the foreign attention.
“I don’t know. My mind gets restless sometimes,” I admit quietly.
Her hand moves from my forehead to my cheek, as if she can sense that I need her. “Very well. You should stick close to the house today, just in case.”
I nod, accepting her request, knowing she’s right. A nap is going to be a necessity today.
“Perhaps we could move our Bible study to the park this afternoon, just to get you some fresh air and out of this house. You’ve been stuck here for so long.”
Blinking my eyes open, I stare at the woman as if she’s grown a second head. Thankfully, my mouth doesn’t utter the thought to let her know I’ve been out every night. But the softness in her gaze gives me hope that I had never considered.
“I’d like that,” I whisper, and she nods resolutely.
I can almost believe that she does see me and loves me.
Chapter 16
Adriel's POV
Ipause with my fingers in the dirt and sit back on my heels. My eyes bounce to the place where Rami had dozed off the night before after telling me stories of his friends. Where I watched raptly as his well-forged armor slowly chipped away to reveal the pain he kept well hidden.
Where the blanket I used to cover him up is still located. He looked so peaceful there. I didn’t want to wake him to leave. I even fell asleep next to him. Something I haven’t done with anyone aside from siblings—and that was when I was a small child. At first, it felt wrong, like the action was too intimate to do with him. But even for how stubborn I am, I can’t deny the magnetism between us.
Like a willing moth to the flame. A bright spark with a long life ahead of him.
Knowing he wasn’t going to be there when I awoke didn’t make seeing the empty place any easier.
Ludo taps his foot and draws my attention. Picking one of the wild strawberries, I hand it to him. He latches onto it with his shorter forelegs, but his gaze never wavers from me. The little rodent knows me too well.
