Page 165 of Brighter Together

The silence doesn’t feel uncomfortable with him anymore.

We follow the path around the side of the hotel and down towards the lower gardens.

“I didn’t think about Lee tonight.”

The words come out before I decide whether I want to say them.

Tommy looks down at me.

“Not once?”

I shake my head.

“Not until now.”

That surprises me more than it should.

For the last week, Lee has been somewhere in the back of my mind almost constantly.

No calls.

No messages.

Nothing from Dad either.

The silence felt threatening.

But tonight, for several hours, I completely forgot to be afraid of it.

“I was too busy worrying about whether Alex was going to poison us with potatoes.”

Tommy laughs.

“Those potatoes were beyond poisoning.”

I smile.

Then he becomes quieter.

“Ella?”

“Hmm?”

“There’s something I’ve been meaning to say.”

That tone makes my stomach tighten.

I hate that my body still reacts before my brain can remind it that this is Tommy.

“What?”

He stops walking.

I turn towards him.

“I’m not angry with you anymore.”

For a second, I can only stare at him.