“I won’t take advantage of you. We’ll just sleep, Finn. I promise,” she explains patiently, with a sweetness I doubt many have ever witnessed.
“Okay,” I concede softly, still unable to look directly into her eyes, but also powerless in denying whatever she asks of me.
I take off my Jordans and then my T-shirt. Thank fuck I changed into these comfortable sweat pants before I came over. If I was still in the same jeans I had worn today, I’d have to take them off. Trying to sleep in those would be pretty unbearable. Not to mention that I wouldn’t be able to sleep in the same bed as Stone in only boxer briefs. But then again, lying next to her will be excruciating either way. Once she’s made sure I’m settled in, she asks me to turn off the lamp on her desk, and even though the bed is tiny, I manage to keep enough space between us to avoid touching each other.
The only light that comes into her room is from a small window on the opposite wall. The beams of moonlight cast enough of a shadow to make me very aware of everything around me, especially the immobile figure lying at my side.
When we were both so focused on studying, the silence in the room calmed my racing mind, but now it’s running at a fast pace. I hear my heart beat erratically with every little shuffle she makes under the pale-blue bedsheet, but when she finally turns toward me and places her hand over my bare chest, I swear the fucker actually skips a beat.
“I’m glad you called. To study, I mean,” she says softly.
“Hmm.”
Another pregnant pause ensues, but the awkward silence doesn’t even affect me now since all my focus is on her dainty fingers running up and down my feverish skin.
“I remembered something the other night,” she begins, coaxing out my curiosity.
“Remembered what?”
“When we were up at the gazebo last time, playing our little game. You told me two secrets, but I only gave you one.”
“That’s okay,” I mumble, not really thrilled she’s bringing up that soul-crushing night.
“I would still like you to know, though,” she continues, inching her warm body closer to mine, her emerald eyes intent on the left side of my face.
I turn my body on its side to face her because I’m a lovesick fool who can’t help wanting to be close to her. My body instantly burns hotter when she bridges the small gap between us, leaving us a hair’s breadth away from each other. Stone’s usually fierce features are soft, yet hesitant. There is a speck of fear swimming in her green rivulets, making me wish I could dive in deep and extinguish whatever she’s so afraid of.
“You met my mom, Finn. You can imagine what type of childhood I had, but you should know it wasn’t all bad. Not all of it, anyway,” she explains, swallowing dryly.
Stone’s eyes lower from my face, latching onto my chest, where her fingers continue to play around in circles. Whatever she wants to tell me is draining all her bravery, turning me utterly speechless. She is the most fearless person I have ever met, so seeing this smidge of vulnerability is gripping my heart in an almighty fist, squeezing the life out of it.
My protective instincts speak louder than my sense of self-preservation, and before I’m able to stop myself, my hand is already cradling her cheek comfortingly. Stone instantly covers my hand with her palm, holding me there and causing my breath to hitch with her gentle touch.
“You don’t have to tell me anything you don’t want to,” I hush, caressing her soft skin with the pad of my thumb.
“But I do. I want to,” she replies emotionally, before placing a kiss on my open palm.
I place my forehead on hers, and with our breathing in sync, I silently tell her that she can share with me whatever she wants. As long as I have her in my arms, she will always be safe.
Will she, though?
God, I hope so.
“We used to be happy once,” she mutters. “When my dad lived with us, I mean. Momma had her spells, but Dad always knew exactly how to handle her. How to keep me from seeing the worst of it. He did everything for us. He took me to school, helped me with my homework. He took care of me, but most importantly, he took care of her. When he was put away, all of that changed.”
“Put away?”
“My father is in jail, Finn. Living on the Southside doesn’t come easy, you know? My father had to do a lot of shady things to keep a roof over our heads. Sometimes that meant he had to do some illegal dealings for us to get by. Unfortunately, he got caught up with the wrong crew—a bunch of scary assholes who didn’t like to leave witnesses of their criminal ways.
“On one particular truck heist, the driver pulled through and gave the police a description of one of his assailants, which fit my dad to a T. Since he was a known associate of a crew that was already under investigation, the cops didn’t hesitate in pinning it on him, regardless of the fact that he wasn’t even there when it all went down.”
“Shit, Stone,” I interrupt gruffly, feeling her pain and anger roll through her body in waves as she recalls that troubling time in her life.
“And since our judicial system is a goddamn joke, my father took a plea bargain just so he wouldn’t have to serve a full sentence. He knew for a fact that no jury would believe him since his track record wasn’t the greatest. He was only supposed to do fifteen years, ten with good behavior.
“While he was inside, some of his old crew members thought he’d rat them out. At the end of the day, they knew that my father was a family man and would do just about anything to get back to us sooner. So the assholes went after him inside. My father had to defend himself in any way he could, which resulted in him killing for real this time, adding more time to his already steep sentence. He’ll most likely never see the light of day again,” she explains distraught.
Her eyelids shut closed while her hand keeps its hold on mine against her cheek, comforted by the solace it offers.
“He drew up divorce papers once he knew he’d never get out, hoping my mom would sign them so she could start her life over without being chained to him. She couldn’t, of course. To this day, Momma refuses to move on. Sure, she has a boyfriend here and there to fill up her lonely time, but she’ll never give up my father. Even if she never sees him again, she’ll never let him go.”
“When did this happen, Stone? When was your father put away?”
“Almost thirteen years ago. I was just eight when my world fell apart. When my father was put behind bars for a crime he didn’t commit, my mother dove head-first into a downward spiral. I had just started third grade when I officially became the adult of the house—the one who needed to pick up my mother’s shattered heart from the floor and ensure she’d always be taken care of.”
“That’s a lot of pressure to put on a little girl’s shoulders, Stone.”
“I was never a little girl, Finn. That’s a luxury I never had.”
“Is that why you’re taking law? You want to be a defense lawyer?”
“Something like that. I want to be in a position where I can have a voice to shape this country’s laws. I want to help better our judicial system to ensure innocent men don’t feel that accepting a plea deal is their only option.”