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“Just to get more comfortable.”

He grumbles, turning his head so it’s lying on the bed. I crawl under the blankets. He’s eyeing me curiously, his hair messy from my fingers. I open my arms. He smiles, laying his head on my chest, burrowing himself into me, his legs intertwining with mine. “Boom boom,” he whispers.

“Boom boom?”

“Your heart does boom boom. And you make my heart do boom boom again.”

He sighs, arms wrapping around me. “You’re my miracle.”

Chapter Sixteen

Carson

Why is it so bright here? There is an excruciating pain in my head. As if I have been in a fight and someone used my head as a boxing ball, my lips are dry, and there is this disgusting taste in my mouth. Fuck, this sucks. This is why I never drink.

I lift my head from my pillow. I’m lying on my stomach, my arms spread above me, a pink blanket lies abandoned on the floor. I groan, rubbing my eyes, when everything rushes back to me. Alexis calling me about Kane. Going to the club with Killian, seeing him with Connor and—their confession. The drinks I had, how they convinced me to bring me home. Exiting the car laying on the cold ground then. Alexis. She took care of my drunk ass, let me crash on her bed. I bonk my head against my headboard thinking back to how I begged her to let me lay on her lap, how she called me honey. Fuck, I liked that. The bedroom door opens, soft footsteps fill the room. “Good morning,” she whispers, holding a glass of water in one hand, and I hope some Advil in the other.

“Morning,” I reply with a hoarse voice, she sits near my feet handing me the water and the pills.

“You doing okay?” Her voice is soft, like it almost always is when she talks to me.

I lift my shoulder. “Could be better.”

She smiles sadly, I scoot to the side of the bed and pat the empty spot next to me. “Come here.”

She shuffles towards me, lying down a few inches from me, her arm brushing mine.

“Do you want to talk about it?”

I sigh, leaning my head back, replaying everything in my head. “Not really. I know I need to talk to them, but I—”

I groan, pulling on my hair. “I just wish they told me. I wouldn’t have forced them to break up, I would have never done that. I mean, sure, I would have had to get used to it. But make them pick between them and me? No, never.”

I shake my head, biting my lip in thought.

“You know you’re not a bad friend, right?”

I turn my head away from her. I was thinking that. Why else wouldn’t they trust me with their relationship? They hid it for six months. They were probably lying to me the entire time, telling me about their plans while they were secretly going to see each other. I wouldn’t have given a damn thing, as long as they made each other happy, I would be happy.

“Look at me,” she orders softly, lifting my chin with her finger. “You are a great friend.” She emphasizes each word slowly. A sigh escapes my mouth. I wish I felt like a great friend right now.

“I don’t feel like it.”

She pulls me closer by my arm, my head leans against her shoulder. She runs her fingers through my hair, like she did last night. “I’ll remind you. I’ll remind you every day of what a good person you are.” Her words are final but soft. I notice she didn’t call me a friend, hope surges through my veins. “You’re the best thing that happened to me since moving here,” she admits. My heart beats faster than it’s ever done. “Even when we had just met, you were always helping me. You remember every small detail about me. You went out of your way to give me something when you didn’t have to you…” She trails off chuckling, but I can barely hear it over the sound of my own heartbeat that’s thrumming in my ears.

Holy fuck, those words are better than any song I’ve ever listened to. “You brought me flowers after you saw my vase was empty. You hold me when I’m sad.” Her fingers pause in my hair, tilting my head up. I meet her beautiful eyes as she smiles down at me. “I don’t want to hear you say anything negative about yourself.”

I stare at her, my mouth wide open, it feels like my heart will jump right out of my chest, she grin at my expression, gently closing my mouth. “Okay?” she asks after a minute of silence where I was just staring at her, wondering what I did to deserve her. I nod, grabbing my phone from my nightstand, multiple notifications pop up on the screen.

Connor: Can you please call me when you wake up?

Connor: I’m so sorry I never meant to hurt you.

Connor: You’re the best brother I could ever wish for.

Killian: I’m sorry, so fucking sorry. Please let me explain.

Killian: You are my best friend man, we didn’t mean to hurt you.