“Really? How strange. That’s not like Brad.” I shrug. “Not that I’m going to miss him, anyway.”
Keegan brushes his fingers down my jaw. It sends a wave of warmth to my chest. When I look up at him, he’s staring back at me. We’re locked in that bubble all over again. He pulls both hands back. “Have you eaten?” he asks, and I shake my head. “Go change. Let’s grab some breakfast.”
I tilt my lips. “We might have some bread.” Only if it’s old enough to be forgotten at the bottom of the cupboard. Brad didn’t do grocery shopping. Again. “Or I’ll take you to a nearby bakery and you can buy yourself something.”
Keegan gets to his feet and waits for me to follow him. His brows dive over the bridge of his nose. “I invited you, Aleida, so, I’ll pay. Besides, it’s the least I can do while I’m crashing on your couch.”
I think of arguing, but Keegan’s shoulders are already so taut. I don’t want to stress him out any longer. Besides, whatever happened yesterday, it wasn’t pretty. “Okay,” I reply, too upbeat for someone who should pretend not to want breakfast. “What do you want to eat?” And I rush into my bedroom, half-closing the door as I pull my PJs off and search for a shirt and shorts.
Keegan takes a beat. “You used to like chocolate chip waffles. Let’s get that.”
I grin, then walk back into the living room, grabbing my phone as I pass it. “Okay. Let’s find someplace that makes them.” I unlock my phone to search for it online, but the screen glitches, then the search engine, and, finally, the phone reboots. My shoulders droop. “Crap. I need to buy a new one, but I don’t have the money for it yet. I hope it survives another couple of months.” Or years. I don’t know if I’ll have the money in a couple of months, too.
Keegan watches me in that broody silence that’s his usual, picks up his phone, unlocks it with a password, then hands it to me. I smile and use it to search for our breakfast spot. Keegan hovers a hand on the small of my back to guide me out of the apartment, and like every other time, his warm presence makes me open my heart. We chat—though it’s one-sided, Keegan never seems to mind—and walk to breakfast, and it’s the highest point of my week.
If only we could have this forever.
4
KEEGAN
The fact Aleida seems more relaxed since Brad left tells me I did the right thing. Made the right choice when I singled him out. The way she talked about him always gave me the creeps, and not in a jealous way. No, it always felt like he was a shadow, threatening her at every turn, and she was too afraid to act against him.
She doesn’t need to worry anymore. I took care of that. He won’t mess with her anymore.
“Seriously, Keegan,” Aleida says as she places triangles of pizza on two plates. “You should use Brad’s room while he’s away. I don’t know how you can handle that lumpy couch.”
The lumpy couch is the least of my worries. I’ve been through worse, even when I was underage and still under the tutelage of my father. His presence would make this couch feel like clouds. I open the fridge door and pick up two beer cans, popping them open for us.
“You sure you want to watch a movie?” she asks after a beat of silence. She doesn’t glance at me.
I arch an eyebrow in doubt. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?”
Aleida takes another beat, then lifts a shoulder in a shrug. “It’s just that... The people I know never had the patience to watch the things I like.”
I swallow hard. Aleida and I spent too long apart. I hate how I left her to be beaten by life for so many years. Her circle of friends always treated her like trash. People saw her good heart and took advantage of it, instead of praising and keeping it safe. It started with her parents and moved on to that fucker she dated in high school. They were together for two weeks before I made him quit.
He was a jerk. Overheard him bragging to his friends about trying to fuck her. He was a vermin, like every other man who’s ever touched her. I will make sure no one ever hurts her again.
Reaching out, I tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. She peers up at me, those big eyes glittering like jewels. “They never deserved you,” is all I say.
She smiles, nods, then goes back to cutting the pizza. I should never have left her behind, though at the time all I needed was to escape my father. I grew up, learned enough shit to get me by, and now I survive. But at what cost?
I plop down on the couch with a plate of pizza and a beer in hand. Aleida closes the blinds, picks up the remote, chooses her movie. Only after the movie’s been playing for a couple of minutes and I have said nothing does she relax, picking up her food. It’s the smallest things that hurt me the most. How she fears I’ll abandon her again, how she thinks I’m another man who doesn’t have the patience for her.
I wish I could tell her I’m not.
Ten minutes in, and Aleida relaxes enough to point out references and explain things from the movie that were in the books and whatnot. She points out what was better in the novels, what wasn’t. She moves to the songs, hums them under her breath. I can’t even look at the TV.
My gaze is stuck to her. I’m hypnotized, taken by how natural she acts around me. Like she’s holding back all the time, and I’m the only person allowed to see her true self. Allowed to see the depths of her soul, the parts of her she fears people will hate.
Aleida is beautiful and bright and brave. I don’t think I can ever walk away again.
She slides a glance in my direction, then smiles. “What?” She chuckles, rubbing the side of her mouth. “Ketchup? Is it ketchup?” And she rubs it harder.
I can’t help but laugh at her antics. “We didn’t put ketchup on the pizza,” I remind her.
Her mouth goes into an O-shape. “I forgot we don’t have ketchup.” And she rolls her eyes. “I have to go grocery shopping tomorrow. God, I hope Brad doesn’t come back in a month. It’ll be so good to have my food to myself for a change.” She elbows me. “I can share with you, though. You’re nothing like Brad.”