Page 52 of Absolution

Her brows pull low. “Do you give everyone you know a nickname?”

“No, but I have a feeling you’re going to stay with me forever, much like a scar or tattoo. Something I’ll look at years to come and have many fond memories of.”

Her shoulders slouch. “What if they’re not good?”

“As you say, I can’t imagine you being in there and them not be good.”

“I bet your parents have a hard time with all of this.” Scarlet slides a little closer to me, sitting back when she does.

I shrug her questions off, giving a half answer. “Yeah, I guess it would have to be.”

“Creed, I can’t fathom someone not loving you. I bet they lose their minds each time you leave.” She twirls a lock of Emmie’s hair, speaking without thought.

A heaviness grows in the pit of my stomach, it’s not an unfamiliar feeling, just not one I equate with my parents. Until now.

“I suppose they do worry if I’ll ever come back, it’s not like I tell them whether I will or won’t. Damn, you’re right, it has to be hard on them.”

“I miss my parents every day, and now that I have Emmie, I think I miss them even more. They would’ve loved her, and watching her grow.” Her eyes fill with tears, near breaking their barriers.

I wet my lips, working up my courage to ask her something so personal, when I’m so guarded. But Scarlet makes it impossible to not want to know everything about her.

“May I ask what happened to them?”

She loses the good fight, and her tears break, running down over her cheeks. “House fire. My dad got me out and went back after mom, but they didn’t make it.”

“I’m so sorry.” My heart clinches, as a gnawing pain holds it in its grip.

She dries her cheek on the shoulder of her shirt. “The pain is harder some days.”

“What days?”

Her eyes float to mine, gazing into them. “On the ones I wish they could see and be a part of, days like today when someone makes a difference in our lives.”

“Or to witness the times you impact someone else’s, much like you have mine.”

Scarlet moves closer to us, her lids heavy. “Y’all are so warm, I can feel your heat from here.”

“I felt yours the second you walked into the room.” She settles in next to me, leaving enough room for me to fit Emmie in between her and the back of the couch perfectly. I stare at them for far too long, feeding my need to be close to them. Finally, I decide to go for it and slip in next to Scarlet’s back, putting my arm around them both.

Her body relaxes as she murmurs. “This feeling, I don’t want it to end.”

“I’ll hold on to you for as long as you’ll let me.” I’m fading fast as I bask in the scent of Scarlet’s hair and Emmie’s cheeks not far from mine.

I want to stay here. I need to feel this a little longer. Her fingers sweep over the stubble on my jaw, prickling the roughness. The insignificant gesture warms me, filling the pain of loss I hadn’t realize I have.

“I miss you.” Her mouth forms every letter, perfectly colored cherry. I reach for her, but she dodges me. I immediately feel her loss. My arm extends out as far from my body as it can; still, she’s not close enough.

“Creed?” I smile as I hear her voice in the distance. It’s sweet and soft, sounding much like a love song. It works like a balm for my plagued existence.

“Creed.” Warmth fills my chest as I lay, listening to her say my name. It rolls from her perfectly supple mouth, stirring my desire for her. Yes, I’m milking every minute of this.

“Creed!” Her tone startles me, and my eyes snap open, finding Scarlet standing over me with a panicked expression. “I’m up!”

“Yes, now you are.” She giggles, but her frown tells a different issue. “If only I could sleep one night as sound as you do.”

Yeah, it is odd, considering I have nightmares when I sleep. I scrub my hand over my face, forcing myself awake. “It’s not something I often do.”

“I have a small problem.” She chews her lip with her brows pulled low.