AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I don’t know you yet, but I want to.Somuch. Every step I took in the underworld, all of it was driven by my love for you—all of you—romantic or platonic. Justhearingabout the love we had for each other pushed me forward, brought me here.”
Grace was bawling, but so were the rest of us.
“You loved me once—” Bullet pressed, his voice cracking slightly.
“I love you still,” Grace interrupted, sniffling. “Bullet, it’s not even a question in my mind. When I forgot you each morning after you visited me in the dreamscape, you never stopped loving me. It’s my turn to hold onto our memories, to share them with you, make new ones with you.”
“Even if I’m not the same?” he whispered. “Even if I’m not the old Bullet?”
Chapter 32
TheagonyofdiscoveringBullet had no memory of me was replaced by disbelief at his question. What had he been through in the time we’d been apart, when I thought he’d been sleeping?
“You’re still Bullet,” Dare interjected sharply. “Your memories aren’t the only thing that made youyou. Your heart hasn’t changed. I’ve seen that for myself.”
A fresh wave of tears hit me at that. They’d been together. I wasn’t entirely sure how, but I was glad that neither of them had been alone.
“I want to get to know you,” I told Bullet. “To hear about how you feel and what you want and what you’ve been through. You’re still mine, though. You always have been.”
Wild approached while we were talking, standing at my shoulder, but holding himself back. There was enough longing and confusion on Bullet’s face as he looked between us that he must have been told something about us, but couldn’t quite figure out where he fit. Where we all fit.
My resolve firmed. I wasn’t going to give up on Bullet, not ever, but I didn’t want to overwhelm him either. However long it took, whatever path we ended up on, whatever road to happiness Bullet found, I’d support him. If he lost his romantic love for me—a fate too painful to contemplate—then I’d accept that, and never push him for more than he wanted to offer. My love for him was unconditional, whatever the future held.
Wild pressed against my back, strong and steady, and I knew we were on the same page.
“Whatever you need, Bullet. Let me show you the patience that you always showed me.”
“In the dreamscape?” Bullet asked curiously, testing out the word on his tongue.
“You visited me every night in my dreams. You created the most beautiful places for me. You made me smile every night even when my days were full of loneliness.” I swallowed thickly, not wanting to cry in case it upset Bullet when he was already so clearly overwhelmed. “I can’t create a dreamscape full of beautiful memories for you, but I can do it in real life. I will.Wewill.” I glanced up at Wild, offering him a strained smile. He was clearly struggling to find the words, but he gave my free hand a quick squeeze of support.
“That sounds really nice,” Bullet said softly. “All of us. And Quinn.”
My throat was so tight, I felt like I was swallowing a knife. How had Quinn come to end up here with us?WithoutRogue? Except I already knew the answer, and it was too agonizing to bear.
“Yes. All of usandQuinn. We’re going to find our own happy, okay?”
“We’ll find our own happy,” Bullet agreed, sounding faintly awed.
“Can I hug you?” I whispered to Bullet, not wanting to rush him.
“Oh, fuck yes. Whenever you want,” he assured me, yanking me forward with surprising confidence and wrapping his arms around my waist, lifting me a couple of inches off the ground. I laughed at the unexpected enthusiasm, clinging to his neck and pressing my face into his shoulder. He was stillmyBullet, I could sense it underneath all that uncertainty, but he was changed too. The insecurity that stemmed from my forgetting his face every single night was gone. Undoubtedly, he’d have new worries—I knew I did after everything we’d experienced—and we’d have to find a way to navigate those together too.
I wasn’t giving up.
“I missed you so much,” I mumbled against his skin. “I don’t want to let you go. But I know this is probably really confusing for you, so tell me if it’s too much.”
Bullet sighed, a dreamy sort of sound, squeezing me tighter. “If this is what it’s like to be loved, I think I’m going to like it a lot.”
I lost my battle with my tears, squeezing my eyes shut as a few stray ones escaped. Wild tentatively pressed his chest to my back, wrapping us both up in a hug, and after a moment, Riot and Dare were there, pressing in either side of our huddle. Reassuring ourselves that we were all together again.Finally.
With one new addition.
“Dare,” Riot murmured, speaking quietly so as not to break the magic of the moment. “Where is Rogue?”
All at once, a fresh wave of grief washed over us. We knew where Rogue was. Why she wasn’t here with her baby.
Wild took control, guiding us back up the steps to the little nest we’d made for ourselves while the Spartoi did their best to give us privacy. I clung onto Bullet’s arm, and he didn’t seem inclined to pull away as we sat down together on the blankets in a small circle, Quinn cradled gently against Dare’s chest.
