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“Done,” he announced, and Sophie settled back into the couch to finish watching her movie. Not even five minutes passed before she fell asleep. Her little chest rose and fell with her breath, her expression peaceful.
“Finally,” Kaden muttered, then moved in front of her and covered her with the pink blanket, being careful not to wake her.
“Should we go somewhere else, so we don’t wake her?” Abby whispered.
Kaden shifted his gaze to the kitchen, only feet away, then toward the hall. “Yeah, maybe. We can go to my room. It’s not very big, but—”
“Your room’s great,” Abby said, already headed for the hallway. Part of her desperately wanted to see the intimate space, to get a glimpse of the boy she still had so much to learn about.
“It’s the first one here.” He pointed to the first doorway.
Abby entered, taking it in. The small space held a dresser, bed, and desk, which looked slightly outdated. Everything about it was practical, from the furnishings to the tidy blue bedspread and cream-colored walls.
“I’m not surprised it’s so clean. Everything in order. In its right place.” She moved to the tall dresser, peering at a framed image. In the photo, a younger Kaden stood in front of a woman she assumed was his mother, her sandy hair blown back from her face as she beamed at the camera with her hands on the boy in front of her Abby guessed to be about Sophie’s age now. In the picture Kaden smiled, his familiar brown eyes sparkling above chubby cheeks.
“My mom,” Kaden said, confirming her assumption.
“She’s beautiful.”
Kaden nodded, saying nothing, then sat down on the edge of his bed.
Unsure of what to do with herself, Abby pulled his desk chair over to where he sat and placed it in front of him, taking a seat.
“I know it’s not much.” Kaden gestured around the room. “But it—”
“Stop.” Her voice sounded harsher than she intended. “Stop doing that.”
“What?”
“That.” Abigail waved a hand toward him. “Apologizing and looking embarrassed about where you live. It makes me feel like you think I care how big your house is or what your bedroom looks like.”
Oh my gosh, did she just tell him how she felt?
Kaden scratched his arm. “I’m sorry. I guess I...”
“Do you really think that matters to me?”
Kaden shrugged, refusing to meet her eye. “I don’t know. Does it? I mean, you can’t blame me for wondering. You have this monstrous house. Your family drives beamers and Mercedes—”
“That’s so unfair. You know what? Never mind,” she said, then stood to leave.
Behind her, she heard the squeak of bedsprings, followed by the thud of Kaden’s footsteps before a hand curled around her wrist.
“Abigail, wait.”
She whirled on him, poking a finger into his chest. “Yeah, I live in a nice, really big house. I have my own cell phone and laptop and a swimming pool in my backyard,” she said between clenched teeth. “But that doesn’t make me who I am. Those are just things.” She poked him again, making him take a step back. “I know, in reality, we haven’t known each other long. But if you honestly think I care about how nice your house is or where you live or what you don’t have versus what you do, then you don’t know me at all. And maybe you’re not the kind of person I thought you were. Maybe all that talk about liking me ever since I read that poem was all a load of bull.”
Her throat ached until the burning moved to her eyes, having no idea why it bothered her so much. Kaden grabbed the fingers pointed at his chest and held them there, over his heart, until she felt the hammering against his ribs.
His eyes softened. “Do you wanna know the real reason I don’t have a cell phone or the internet? It’s because after my mom died, we had a bill a mile long, and not just from the hospital but a second mortgage and credit cards. From all her treatments, all the experimental therapies insurance didn’t cover, and then her funeral. Dad sunk every dime he had into keeping her alive.”
Kaden’s adam’s apple bobbed. Abby gazed at him warily as he continued, “I saw the bill once. It’s more than an ivy league college education. And he won’t let me work to help out. It’s why he couldn’t miss his shift today. It’s why I sneak odd jobs to save extra cash for school.”
He paused, taking a step closer to her until only a breath’s space stood between them. “I don’t think you care about any of that. I’m sorry. It’s me. I get...”
He squeezed his eyes closed, allowing her the opportunity to take him in up-close while he wasn’t looking. She noted the constellation of freckles on his nose and the delicate sound his breathing made when he was upset. She took in the hard line of his jaw, the bit of stubble forming on his chin, and the way his skin smelled of oranges and soap.
When he opened his eyes, his gaze fell to her mouth. “I get insecure about it.”
