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I lay back down. “What can I say? I fall asleep when I’m bored.”
And warm.
I kept that last bit to myself, definitely aware Wolf hadn’t moved his arm when I lay back down. I also noticed neither one of us had talked about what had happened this morning, and we’d certainly had a lot of time to do it.
I mean, he’d shown me his life.
At least, a snapshot of it. We’d gone to his old high school, and he even showed me some sites where he’d tagged graffiti in town. I’d gotten to see his work for the first time, and that’d been amazing. He tended to use both dark and vibrant colors, geometric scenes and not far off from the piece he had on his back. He gave the world a glimpse into the universe through his art. The work I’d seen displayed constellations like his tattoo.
A lot had happened today. A lothad been happening,and not once did either of us address it. I wasn’t sure of Wolf’s reason, but mine surrounded fear. Fear that I’d let this guy in a bit.
I’d more than let him in.
I let my eyes close, the crook of Wolf’s arm hugging my neck. As solid as this guy was, one would think lying on him would hurt.
I wished it did.
I was too selfish to move away from him, and if we only had one more hour on this trip, I didn’t see the point in wasting it. I wouldn’t waste it.
“It was cancer.”
My gaze flicked up, eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Cancer, Red. It wascancer.” His fingers folded on my arm, his eyes avoiding. He stared out the window. “My back. It was cancer. A tumor. That’s what the scar’s from. I know you saw it.”
I had seen it.
A tumor…
I didn’t move. I didn’t breathe. I simply watched him, his digits restless against my skin.
“What’s crazy is, I didn’t even notice through football or anything. Not the intense training. None of that shit.” He lifted his hand, the one holding me. “It was my art. My hands…” He formed a fist. “The work was getting all fucked up and wasn’t coming out right.”
Oh my God.
“Anyway, that’s what it was.” His hand returned to my arm, dark eyes finally looking at me. “A tumor. Spinal cancer.”
I swallowed, not really knowing what to say.
I mean, why did he tell me?
He certainly didn’t have to, and I shifted against him. “Are you okay now?”
Mine were the restless fingers now. They clenched his hoodie a little, and he noticed.
Our fingers danced, his smile a subtle one.
“I’m sitting here, aren’t I? With you?”
“That’s not what I asked.”
Our gazes clashed again. “Doc says I’m fine. Just had an appointment actually. Went well.”
But there were multiple ways to be fine. There were, and they didn’t always surround the physical. My throat thickened. “Christ, Ares.”
“Christ.” He said the word as if considering it.
And I noticed his digits didn’t escape mine.
