When I finally woke up,reallywoke up, the room was filled with soft afternoon light.
I lay there for a long time, staring at the ceiling, my mind clearer than it had been in days. My body still ached, but the sharp edge of exhaustion had dulled. I could think again. Could breathe without feeling like my chest was caving in. And with clarity came the truth I had been running from.
I love him.
The thought didn’t hurt this time. It didn’t terrify me. It justwas.
I loved Nano. I loved the way he looked at me like I was the only thing in the world that mattered. I loved the way he touched me, rough and tender and utterly consuming. I loved the way he opened up to me, showing me the broken pieces of himself that he never shown anyone else. I even loved his darker side. The monster that did delicious, dangerous things to me.
I loved him. I loved all of him and I pushed him away because I was too fucking scared to admit it.
You’re still scared.
Yeah. I was. But maybe that was okay. Maybe being scared didn’t mean I had to run. Maybe it just meant I had to be brave enough to face it.
A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts.
“Alex?” Oscar’s voice was quiet. Careful. “You awake?”
“Yeah,” I said, my voice hoarse from disuse. “I’m awake.”
The door opened, and he stepped inside carrying a tray with food— scrambled eggs, toast, orange juice. He set it on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of the bed, his expression unreadable.
“You look like shit,” he said.
I laughed, the sound rough and broken. “Thanks.”
“How are you feeling?”
“Like I got hit by a truck.”
He nodded, his gaze steady. “You’ve been out for three days.”
Three days.
“I needed it,” I admitted.
“Yeah.” He paused, his jaw tightening. “You wanna tell me what the fuck happened?”
I looked at him, really looked at him. My brother. The man who raised me after our parents died. The man who protected me, even when I didn’t deserve it, and I realized I was done lying.
Done running. Done pretending I didn’t feel what I felt.
“I fucked up,” I said quietly.
“Yeah, I got that part.” His voice was dry, but there was no judgment in it. Just concern. “What I don’t know ishow.”
I took a breath, my hands twisting in the blanket. “Nano found me. In Florida.”
Oscar’s expression darkened. “And?”
“And he told me he loved me.”
Silence.
Oscar stared at me, his jaw working as he tried to process what I just said. “He told you he loved you,” he repeated slowly.
“Yeah.”
