Darn Stupid Brother You Are by Mairee

Chapter 75

(Thomas's POV)

The night air was crisp and carried the faint scent of pine and damp grass. Angel sat beside me on the porch steps and her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulder. It was the same spot where everything between us had changed and now it felt like a fragile bubble that could burst with one wrong move.

She leaned forward with her elbows on her knees and stared out at the darkness. I couldn't help but watch her, the curve of her profile lit by the pale moonlight. She was stunning, but it wasn't just that. There was something about Angel that made me want to protect her even when she pretended she didn't need it.

I leaned back and let my shoulder brush against hers. "You always look like you're carrying the weight of the world. Do you know that?"

She glanced at me and her lips curved into a small smile. "Maybe I am."

Her voice was light but I could tell there was more to it. There always was.

It wasn't lost on me that things with Hendrix were far from settled. The guy had issues-no, we had issues-but I wasn't about to let that ruin what I had with Angel. If anything, it made me more determined to hold on to her even if I didn't know how long we'd have in a place like this.

I shifted and rested my hands on my knees. "You ever think about what happens after this place?"

Angel turned to me and her brow furrowed slightly. "After?"

"Yeah," I said and stared out at the empty yard. "Do we go back to who we were before? Or does this place leave its mark on us forever?"

She didn't answer right away and I didn't push. Maybe I didn't want to know the answer.

•

(Angel's POV)

I couldn't focus.

his words felt distant, like I was underwater. My mind was a mess of everything I'd been trying to ignore: my mom's voice

everything. The way we had let things spiral between us, the way

Thomas's voice cut through the noise and I blinked, realizing he was

"Yeah?"

said softly as he leaned

shook my head. "It's

it wasn't nothing.

And even before this silence from her? I hadn't

bring myself to tell the others. What kind of leader was

•

(Thomas's POV)

Her silence was deafening.

"Angel, come on.

and bit her lip in that

can tell me, you know." and as I said so, I had at the back of my mind that she was thinking about Hendrix. She glanced at me then and for a moment

anything to do with

I knew

.

(Angel's POV)

shifted closer and his knee brushed against mine as he leaned in slightly, his eyes narrowing with concern. "Angel, I'm not stupid.

at him as my heart raced. "It's not

what it

twisted my fingers together

and rested his hand on the step between us. "You've used that

please," I whispered

his head. "Not when

the sincerity in his gaze. "It's about the journal, okay? But that's all I can