Page 60 of In Every Chapter

“Not a thing.” Juliet whipped the covers back, exposing me to the brightness of the room because she’d already opened the curtains.

“Jules!” I shrieked, and snatched back the blanket shield to my chest. “What if I was indecent?”

Her gaze was unflinching. “I roomed with you for half a decade. You were never indecent.”

“But I’m married,” I muttered.

“And sleeping in separate rooms.” She raised an eyebrow. “Time to get out of bed.”

Glasses. I needed to see her to have this conversation. My hand groped the nightstand until I found them and jammed them on my face before flopping back against the downy pillows which were a cloudlike paradise. Almost as nice as cuddling with Greyson. Warmth flooded my cheeks. “I’m tired.”

“You need fresh air, sunshine, a change of scenery, and a shower. Get up.” She marched to the closet and tossed a few items at me, narrowly missing my head.

I gingerly pinched the cap-sleeve sheer blouse and high-waisted dotted swiss skirt. “Real clothes? What’s wrong with this?” I tugged at Greyson’s T-shirt, which I was still wearing. Yes, I had washed it. Don’t judge me.

She ignored my question. “You have thirty minutes.”

“No.”

She stood at the edge of the bed, arms crossed like a general staring down an insubordinate soldier. “I love you, Pais. You know that, right?”

I nodded. Because, oddly enough, I did. Juliet wasn’t demonstrative and rarely actually said the words I love you. I was pretty sure she was allergic to most emotions, which made watching her emotional roller coaster pregnancy incredibly amusing. But the point was, her usual emotive level was as comfortable as a steel wool scrubber. She had her occasional softer moments—this was not one of them—but I felt her love deep in my bones. In the way she stood up to me, for me. The flowers she randomly had delivered, just because. The way she’d been in my corner from day one. The first person in my life who’d decided to stick around and mean it.

“Good. Then know it’s love saying this to you. You’re dealing with a huge amount of trauma right now, and your body and brain are freaking out. I’ve been doing some reading and that’s normal. Expected.”

That right there was a love language. Juliet didn’t generally read for fun, and if she did, they were murder mysteries.

“But I refuse to let you spiral back to where you were before.” Her eyes burned with deadly fury. “What he did to you . . . what he made you believe. You were in a dark place, Pais. I can’t—” Her voice broke. “I won’t let you sink back there. Not if I can help it.”

“Jules . . .” I couldn’t exactly argue, since what did I remember? Oregon had taken a lot out of me, weighing heavy on my sternum. It was a lot to process in two days. But Greyson had been a bright spot in the wave of grief that washed over me.

I might never love Oregon for what happened to me there, but I could move forward in spite of it. I just needed time.

Juliet’s shoulders straightened, fixing me with a look. “For Frodo.”

What? I sat upright, ignoring the siren call of my pillow cloud and the depressive spiral of my thoughts. “Did you just say what I think you said?”

She snapped a nod.

I scooted closer to her and placed a hand on her forehead, like I was checking for a fever. “Juliet Delavan, do you even know who Frodo is? Are you feeling okay? Do I need to call Myles?”

She blinked. Crickets chirped.

“Gandalf?” I pressed.

Two blinks and more crickets.

“Aragorn and the Ents?”

She caved, sighing heavily. “Fine.”

“I knew it!” I shrieked, pumping my fist. “Why did you play dumb all these years? It’s not your style.”

Juliet rolled her eyes. “Because you always got so excited to school me on all things Tolkien, and I wasn’t going to take away your fun.”

It was my turn to blink. That was . . . remarkably thoughtful. Coming from Juliet, downright touching actually.

“Just . . . hold onto hope, okay? Frodo made it back to the Shire; you will, too.” She slapped her knees and stood up, straightening her dress slacks and blouse, like she was brushing off the remnants of sappiness. “Let’s get moving. Go have a shower, and then we’re spending the afternoon out before going to Downto’n for dinner.”