Page 97 of Challenge Me

“What happened?”

“Oh, this and that,” he said lightly. Growing serious, he pinched my chin and ran his thumb across my lips. “The wicked can recognize the tremor in someone’s soul, like they can see the echo of the first monster you survived. They take it as an invitation because you’re already broken, weak, so half their work is already done. Wolves are prone to going for easy prey, and they circle you, getting closer and closer, until one day, they pounce. You don’t recognize it until it’s too late. Then you wise up a bit.”

“How many wolves?”

He didn’t look away, nor did his expression change. “Enough.”

“I’m so sorry. For whatever happened to you. Any of it. All of it.”

“Shh.” He laughed softly, his expression taking on a warmth that had disappeared for a few minutes. “Look at me. I’m fine.”

“Yeah, now.”

“Now’s all that matters, really.”

“If you’re being simplistic, sure.”

“Weren’t you just telling me that I overcomplicate my words? Well, there’s your not-open-to-interpretation version of events, whatever it’s worth.”

“It’s worth everything,” I said before I settled on his chest again.

When he kissed my head for a long minute, it felt like he’d comforted me for some reason, and it made me wonder more about this man who had every reason to view life through a lens of unwavering cynicism. Despite everything, even the poetry that leaned toward sorrow, Remi didn’t strike me as a dark person deep down. Then again, there was his issue with looking in the mirror and his obvious failure to see his own worth.

Like we’d established early on, we’d see how things went one day at a time.

Chapter 26

Remi

I whispered flame for gods whose days are long,

And fed them whiskey so they’d keep my spirit strong.

I couldn’t say for sure when I’d gotten attached to the little shit. It could’ve been when she drew me that picture; I had to respect the shade she threw at me right from the start. Or it might have been the first time I helped her with math.

It didn’t really matter when. The fact remained that I’d definitely become attached, so as I watched her moodily drag her suitcase out of her room, I felt part of my soul dying. I was all for spending time with Amir in ways that we couldn’t with a kid hanging around—maybe right here on this kitchen island or on the balcony at sunset—but those things weren’t all that important. Despite our pool table rendezvous and some impromptu locker room handiwork, I didn’t actually care all that much about the physical. Emotional connection was the shit I got high on.

Like with Mal. I hadn’t been around kids much, except when I was one. She and her dad weren’t a package deal when this whole thing started because her involvement wasn’t on the table. Now that the three of us had spent a week and a half together, I was loath to admit what had actually sprouted here. In fact, it was best if I forgot it entirely since Mal was going home this morning.

When the front door opened, I barely glanced at Amir and Avery. They’d been talking for the past ten minutes, and from the looks on their faces, it hadn’t gone as well as last time. She smiled at me, so I forced one in return.

“Are you ready?” she asked Mal.

All she did was lift a shoulder. With that serious look on her face, she was strikingly similar to her dad. I could imagine him with an attitude like that when he was her age, probably giving his parents hell but in more subtle ways than I used to act out.

Amir held his hand out, waiting for Mal to come to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, and a warm feeling spread in my gut. Her head came to his navel, which made me wonder if she would be tall. Would I get the chance to find out?

Looking away from them, I watched the sun reflect off the building across from us.

“I’ll see you soon,” Amir said to her.

“Promise?”

“Of course. When I’m home, you’re with me. Same as always.”

“And Remi?”

At the sound of my name, I glanced at them. Amir met my eyes, and I thought there might be a question in them. Turning back to Mal, he tucked her hair behind her ears.