Lifting my leg, I lay it over the top of his, trying to get more comfortable. “Fine. I’ll just stay here with you then.”
He sighs, his breath ruffling my hair. “Rella, you need to go back to your brother’s house.”
“It doesn’t feel right being there without you. I love Trouble, and Remi is great. And I just adore Elijah. But it’s not the same without you there. I missed you.”
He doesn’t say anything for several moments, then he murmurs, “We’ll see.”
His answer isn’t a no, so I’ll take that as a partial win. Whether he stays here or decides to go back to Trouble’s, I’ll be where he is. There’s no way I’m leaving him alone to stew in his dark thoughts.
We turn quiet after that. I lie there and continue to listen to his heart beat and think about the possibility of a future I never dreamed I could have. Sadness tries to creep its way in at the thought of a baby never being part of that future. I push the sorrowful thoughts away and focus on the good.
Could Aziah and I have a normal romantic relationship? It’s still bizarre to even consider. Can both of us overcome our demons to form an intimate bond? The better question is, will he even want something like that with me? I know he enjoyed the kiss. Not just because he told me so. I could see it in his eyes and the way his body shook after I pulled away.
Never have I imagined my life would take this turn. That I would start to feel something like this for Aziah, but now that I do, I feel a of sense of rightness. Like everything that happened to us was meant to lead us here.
I just need Aziah to believe it too.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
EMO
RELLA AND I MUST HAVE fallen asleep on the couch and slept through the night. I open my eyes and almost flip my shit when I see a pair of familiar green ones staring down at me. They move to Rella lying on my chest, then back to me, amusement causing a few laugh lines at the corners.
“Jesus Christ, Trouble, you scared the shit out of me. You’re lucky Rella’s lying on me, or you’d have a face full of fist right about now.”
He steps back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I didn’t think anything scared you.”
“That’s fuckin’ stupid. Everyone is scared of something. I just don’t let it show.”
Rella stirs, and I glance down just as her eyes slide open and land on me. She looks so damn beautiful when she smiles sleepily.
“Hey,” she says drowsily.
“Hey.” I flick my eyes to Trouble to find him watching us. “We have company.”
Lifting her head, she peeks over her shoulder, then tries to sit up. I hold her hips before she can tumble off the couch.
“Careful,” I murmur and help her stand.
She hikes up the sweats she’s wearing when they slide down her hips.
“How are you doing?” Trouble asks, scanning his eyes all over her face.
“I’m fine.” She brushes her hair out of her eyes.
I sit up and scrub my hand over my face several times, trying and failing to get my bearings.
“We need to talk,” Trouble says, grabbing my attention.
“So, talk.”
His gaze moves to his sister before landing back on me. “Privately.”
“There’s nothing she can’t hear. She knows everything.”
I can tell he doesn’t like that answer by the way his face hardens. We would have eventually told Rella anyway, but I took the “when” away from him. Too fucking bad. She’s part of the reason why we do things the way we do them here in Malus. There was no sense in waiting.
After a long moment, he nods. Pulling his hands from his pockets, he crosses his arms over his chest.