Page 128 of Saints & Sailors

I groaned, closing my eyes. “Mom.”

“Scott has it handled, but I can’t sit here on the other side of the country on standby, honey,” my mother insisted. “Scott said I could crash in the guest room if I wanted.”

There was a spare bedroom on the second floor across from Scott’s and mine. There wasn’t much in it but a sofa and a dresser. I was sure Scott would go out of his way to get an air mattress or something to make it work.

Or maybe they’d shack up in his room.

Living together under one roof with my parents sounded surreal.

“Are you flying back for me, or Scott?” I teased.

My mother snorted on her end. “Stop. It’s not about me right now.”

“Come on,” I egged on. “Give me something lighter to talk about.”

I was curious. It had only been a week since they’d seen each other and had succumbed to talking daily. Was that enough time to know if they were beating a dead horse?

“Oh,” my mother sang out, suddenly sounding shy. “I like him and the man he’s grown into. He makes me laugh. He makes me smarter. He makes me proud when I see the way he is with you and how he’s giving his all to step up and repair things. I like your father, Saylor. And it’s scary as hell.”

The risk of it all was frightening. I knew the feeling all too well when I thought about Dreux.

“Let’s see where things can go, okay?” I said gently. “I’m sure he knows what he has now and what it means if he messes up.”

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Sometimes, you get to rewrite your story. No matter how bad a previous chapter was, you can still write yourself a happy ending.”

Her positivity was rubbing off on me, because I didn’t feel so bad anymore. “Sap.”

She laughed. “Just trying to help.”

“I love you for it,” I said. “I love you. I never told you that enough back home, but I wanna tell you now, more than ever, I appreciate you and all that you’ve done for me.”

“Aww.” I could hear a heaviness in her voice now. She sniffled. “Who’s the sap now?”

For the first time in days, I laughed out loud.

Knocking on my door pulled me from where I was scrolling on my phone, getting lost in videos and pictures to distract myself. It was a little after three, and as I looked over, I found Dreux hanging in my doorway.

I wanted to rush over and hug him, but instead I shrank beneath my comforter.

He noticed.

“Don’t be like that.” In two quick strides he’d crossed my room and was hovering over me, studying me, checking for signs of injury. “How are you?”

Scooting over, I made room for him to join me in my bed. He removed his shoes before climbing under my comforter beside me and giving me his full attention.

I raked a hand through my hair and looked at the foot of my bed. Anywhere but Dreux. “I’m embarrassed.”

He touched my knee. “Don’t be.”

I bowed my head. “You can do so much better than me right now.”

Dreux nudged me. “Maybe pretty angry girls are my thing.”

I snuck a peek his way, fighting my smile. “Pretty fuckups.”

He lost his humor as a grave expression captured his face. “You didn’t fuck up.”

His belief in me did something to me. My chest tightened and my heart beat hard. What did I do to deserve a guy like this?