Verum (The Nocte Trilogy 2)

Dare’s hand is on the small of my back as he guides me to the veranda. We stop here, where the wisteria and plumeria grows, where I breathe it in and we stand staring at the stars.

“Do you remember Andromeda?” he asks, and I do remember that night back home. I remember sitting on the beach and his lecture about undying love, but now, it seems so relevant.

“I do,” I tell him, and I lean into him, feeling his warmth and his strength. “And I believe you. Love is undying.”

Finn.

My mom.

Undying.

He stares down at me, and then runs his fingers along my cheek. “Calla, you’re so loved. You just don’t know it right now. Please don’t push me away.”

I close my eyes, because the reasons that I was distancing myself somehow don’t seem important anymore. But still.

Because secrets are the same thing as lies.

And I can’t overlook his secrets.

“I know you think my mind is fragile,” I tell him. “And I think you might be right.”

He protests, but I shake my head. “No, I know you do. And that’s fine. Because I still talk to Finn, Dare. I still pretend he’s with me. A sane person wouldn’t do that.”

Dare swallows and holds my hand, and doesn’t hesitate.

“They would if it helps,” he tells me firmly. “You suffered a great loss, Calla. More than the average person could understand. If it helps you to pretend that Finn is here, then do it. As long as you know you’re pretending.”

I nod, because I do know, most of the time, at least where Finn is concerned.

But there’s something else….something I won’t mention.

The strange man in the hoodie.

Because I don’t want to know if he’s real.

“It’s not fair to expect you to be with me when I’m in such an unbalanced state,” I murmur, and everything in me wants him to argue, to protest, to pull me close.

But to my surprise, he doesn’t.

He just nods. “I don’t want to rush you,” he says quietly. “When you’re ready, you’ll know.”

His words graze my heart, but I brush them away.

This is what I asked for.

“Are you still drawing here?” I ask, trying to change the subject.

He nods. “Of course.”

We keep walking, out of the gardens and down the path. The moon shines overhead, illuminating our steps.

“May I see your drawings?”

Dare smiles. “Of course. Would you like a new one?”

I remember posing for him.

When he drew me, painted me,