Page 408 of Safe With You

I looked around.

I used to think safety had something to do with certainty. Knowing what came next. Knowing exactly where I stood. Knowing enough to keep myself from being surprised by the wrong thing.

For a long time, I thought if I paid close enough attention, I could protect myself. If I noticed the shift before it became distance, if I gave enough without needing too much back, maybe I could keep something from falling apart.

I couldn’t.

And for a while after that, I thought the answer was needing less. Depending on myself. Keeping enough of me separate that if somebody changed their mind, they couldn’t take too much with them.

But standing there now, I knew that wasn’t safety either.

Safety wasn’t found in knowing nothing would ever hurt me again. It was found in knowing I wouldn’t have to face it alone.

That didn’t mean I knew what happened next.

I didn’t.

I didn’t know what Chapter & Charm would look like five years from then. I didn’t know what parts of my life would change or which plans would work exactly the way I expected them to.

For once, I didn’t need to.

“Luna?”

I turned.

Ellis was standing near the door with my coat draped over one arm. Mila was beside him, leaning against his side while she waited.

“You coming?”

I looked at them. At Mila fighting a yawn she would absolutely deny if I pointed it out. At Ellis holding the coat I forgot on the back of my chair. At the two of them waiting for me like there was never any question that I would be walking out with them.

I smiled.

“Yeah.”

I reached for the last light, and the store went dark.

Ellis held my coat out when I reached him, and I slipped my arms into it before picking up my bag.

Mila reached for my hand.

I took it.

Ellis opened the door, and the bell above it gave one last chime as we stepped outside. Once I locked Chapter & Charm behind us, his hand found mine too.

I laced my fingers through his.

Then the three of us walked away together.

TWO YEARS LATER

“You’re going to be late.”

“I’m not going to be late.”

“You said that ten minutes ago.”

“Because you asked me ten minutes ago.”