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He nods like that pleases him and then grabs my water glass, taking it and the trash from opening the heating pad box with him.
When he leaves, I sag against my headboard and pull the heating pad over my abdomen.The heat instantly feels good, and I know relief isn’t far away.But now that my head isn’t focused on the pain, I’m even more flummoxed by Tristan’s behavior.I stare at the chocolate and ice cream sitting next to me.I didn’t even know he knew what my favorites were.When was the last time I ate either of these in his presence for him to remember how much I love them, or how much I always crave them when I’m on my period?
When Tristan returns with a spoon, a full glass of water, and a smile that leaves me feeling a little breathless, I start to wonder if I know Tristan at all.
“Do you have anywhere else to be today?”I ask.
“Nope, that’s why I stopped by—to see if you wanted to hang out.But since you’re not feeling well, I’ll leave you to rest.I know you prefer to veg out when it’s this bad.”
He turns to leave.“Wait!”I call out, causing him to spin around.
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to veg out with me?We could watch something on Netflix,” I offer, gesturing to the small flatscreen TV hanging on the wall across from the bed.I shouldn’t want him around—I’m miserable and crampy—but I can’t help but want him to stay.
His lips tilt up in the softest of smiles, and he grabs the chair in the corner of the room and pulls it around to the other side of my nightstand.He settles into the seat, his long legs stretching out in front of him and crossing at the ankle, while his hands rest comfortably on his stomach.He looks completely at ease, like this is the most natural thing in the world, even though we’ve never done this before.
We’ve hung out a lot in the past year, but mostly outside my house.Occasionally a dinner here or at his place, but never in our private spaces.
And yet, it doesn’t feel weird to have him in here.
I scroll through Netflix, and we discuss different options before finally settling on a documentary.We end up binge watching several episodes, only stopping when my stomach rumbles and Tristan suggests Chinese.
“Here,” he says, handing me his wallet.“Use my card.I’m gonna hit the bathroom real quick.”
I frown, staring down at his wallet.“You don’t have to buy.You already bought me a ton of stuff today.”
“So?It’s my treat.You can buy next time.”
“Alright, if you insist,” I say and then call in our order.When I go to put back his card after placing our order, I notice a picture partially sticking out of his wallet of a woman.Curiosity gets the better of me, and I pull it out before I even realize what I’ve done and what a horrible invasion of his privacy this is.So, of course that’s the minute he walks back into the room.His footsteps falter only slightly before he makes his way over to me.He reaches out for the photo, and I hand it to him, neither of us saying a word as he stares at it.
“Who is she?”I ask quietly.
“My mom.”
I’m momentarily speechless before a million thoughts and questions bombard me.
“She was pretty.”
“Yeah, she was.Before the drugs at least.According to my aunt, she’d been clean for about six months when this picture was taken.”
“You never talk about her.”
He shrugs.“Not much to say.She died when I was eleven from a drug overdose.And before that she was always in and out of our lives.I didn’t really know her.Trent mostly raised me until we moved in with our aunt and uncle.”
“Is that why you guys are so close?”
“Yeah,” he says, but there’s something in his tone that suggests things aren’t great with them right now.
“Why’d you say it like that?”
He shakes his head.“It’s nothing.Trent’s just being kind of an ass right now.It’s fine.We’ll get past it; we always do.”
I’m curious what could possibly drive a wedge between the Bridger brothers.They’ve always seemed tighter than most, but he redirects our attention back to the show until the food arrives, and the timing never seems right to ask about it after that.Even though we don’t end up talking about anything serious for the rest of the night, I feel like I’ve gotten a peek behind the wall he keeps up for everyone else, and now I’m more intrigued than ever to find out more about him.
“Do you trust me?”Tristan asks me as we exit my house.It’s been a few days since he saved me from my period cramps, and he showed up today with a smile on his face telling me he had a surprise for me.
The answer to his question is easy.There’s no one on earth I trust more.He rewards my confirming nod with a brilliant smile that makes his blue eyes sparkle, and for the first time I notice they’re more cerulean than denim or baby blue.How did I never notice that his eyes were my favorite color?
