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We crawl into bed silently, both of our backs to each other, but I feel the warmth from his body all the same. I feel him there beside me, even if I can't see it.

Once Salem finishes washing up, the mattress dips as she climbs in between us, curling against me. Her clean, cherry-chocolate scent floods my senses, calming every racing thought inside my head.

I know this isn't fixed. We're still broken—all three of us—and I know it's by things I've done. Things I can’t undo.

But for once, I fall asleep without dreading the sunrise.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Salem

Zooming in, my eyes stay glued to the viewfinder as Taylor hits the ramp at full speed, launching his bike into the air.

His body twists in perfect sync with Christian’s, both of them suspended for a breathless second before their tires slam down. The engines and the crowd's cheers are deafening, but not enough to drown out the noise in my brain.

I shift the focus slightly, tracking Christian into a backflip with his middle fingers in the air. We’ve put on this routine a dozen times now, and I watch it through the lens slightly bored, setting up each angle habitually. Filming seems to be the only thing I can control lately.

I can capture the world and put it in a pretty frame. Cut out the mess, mute the sound. I can mold the memory of this moment into exactly how I want it to be.

If only reality worked the same.

My phone buzzes, and I pull it from my pocket to see Xed's face lighting up the screen. Shoving in a pair of noise-canceling earbuds, I hit the answer button, simultaneously snapping another photo of Taylor’s Captain Morgan backflip. “You have shit timing.”

“I'm at Hannah's swim lesson,” Xed mutters into the phone. “She found out from her teacher that you can swim with reef sharks, so guess what her new goal is.”

A snort escapes me at his daughter's shark obsession. “Sounds about right. Is Matty there?”

"Yeah, let me get him for you."

Xed calls for his husband, and a grin tugs at my mouth when Matty's sunshiny voice rings in my ear.

“Hey, Sal!” he greets. I don’t need to look down at my phone to see his crooked grin. “How’re you holding up?”

My throat tightens, but before I can answer, a loud splash graces my ears followed by a shriek of giggles.

“Oh, hang on.” The phone muffles as he shouts over the noise, “Not the deep end, jellybean! You are not a shark!”

I laugh despite myself, heart aching just a little.

Matty comes back for half a second. “Sorry, she's in full apex predator mode. You okay, though?”

“I’m—”

“Shit. Ducky, take the phone. She just belly flopped onto someone's child.”

There’s a shuffle before Xed’s amused voice returns on the other end. “She’s trying to impress the swim coach, I think."

With a hum, I squint and adjust my lens. “Maybe we can take her to the aquarium when we see you in a few weeks.”

“Yeah, she'd love that. Consider it payment for ghosting me.”

I wince, lowering the camera as Christian lands a Superman seat grab that drives the crowd wild. “I haven’t ghosted you.”

Xed scoffs. “You texted ‘S.O.S’ three days ago and then vanished.”

“Uh… yeah, okay. Fair.” Blowing out a breath, I wipe my sweaty palms on my shorts and glance around to make sure I’m truly alone. Arya decided to hang out with Cedar at her booth, Huck and Logan are saving us a spot for As Above’s set, and Devon… well, I don’t give a fuck what he’s doing. “Things here have taken a turn.”