Chapter 12

The countdown is almost over.

Two days

Fall is here. The air is crisper now, with a freshness that wasn’t there before. The sky is weighed down by thick clouds, and drizzle begins to form fog on the streets, making the sidewalks slippery.

I wrap my shirt tighter around me, the thin fabric doing nothing to keep out the cold. I slip on my slippers and walk downstairs slowly, carefully, as if delaying my final routine here.

And then-

A black umbrella tilts toward me, shielding me from the rain before I can even notice the drops hitting my skin.

“Always walk in the rain.” comes a low, familiar voice. “Aren’t you afraid of catching a cold?”

I pause.

He holds the umbrella handle tightly–too tight. The tendons in his fingers stand out, and his knuckles pale from the

pressure.

Pax Brown.

No more pretending.

No more wearing faded hoodies or worn sneakers. No more carefully crafting an image of a struggling man. He stood before me now, radiating the quiet, gaily–bred wealth that had always been second nature to him.

But his face–his expression-

That hadn’t changed.

He smiled.

As if nothing had happened.

someone he’d been deceiving for two

we weren’t in the midst of a

Brown came to me personally?” My voice was light, nonchalant. Detached, as if he’d shown up at my doorstep to sell me

mask slipping in an instant. “Do you have to talk to me

I almost laughed.

Chapter 12

he always decide the rules

how much I could see, how much

days ago, stood in that hospital room, looking at me with cold,

you walk out that door,

And yet

He’s here.

I’m sorry. Let

I didn’t answer.

explain.”

bag I bought Nina – it was a return

he thought it could be redeemed, as

families have always been close–it would have been

I didn’t move.

sincerity, so close to believability that he might have succeeded if I hadn’t seen

this time, I’ve

arrogant. They expect me to be

softened. “When I was with you, I was just a boy. A man

stared at him.

I was split in two. I didn’t know which version of

I panicked.” His hands

of me should

All

that explained everything.

he was warm,

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