A New Dawn

Chapter 32 - Idris

I shut Briar's laptop after I catch her up to where I'm at. The sun starts to sink into the horizon, and the sky is a nice pink color. No cars drive by, so it's pretty much just birds chirping, the occasional breeze, and Briar's breathing.

"You're not gonna read more?" Briar murmurs, burying her face into my neck.

"Do you want me to?" I ask.

"We should, so we can finish before my dad starts the second draft."

I laugh. "You're half-asleep."

"Well, your voice is soothing, so that's your fault."

I roll my eyes, running my hand up and down her arm. "Right. My bad."

She nods, pushing herself into a sitting position. She rubs her eyes. "Right. Your bad." Briar takes the laptop from me. "I'm gonna put this away. Be right back."

She kisses my cheek before she heads inside. I sit back and gently rock the swing, relishing the ghost of her kiss on my skin. I wouldn't mind staying here forever. And never going home. I almost think I can get away with it considering how mad Nanay sounded earlier today, but then the front door opens. Right... Briar's family.

Marlowe steps outside.

Her, too.

"Briar's not coming back?" I ask.

Marlowe smirks as she takes a seat next to me. "You miss her already? That's adorable."

I give her an exasperated look, hoping that covers up how hot my face feels. "Answer the question, please."

Marlowe plants one foot on the swing and clasps her hand around her knee. She braces her other foot on the ground and pushes the swing back and forth. "She's inside talking to her parents right now."

I side-eye Marlowe. "Are they mad at me?"

She arches an eyebrow. "Why would they be mad at you?"

"Because I was out of town with Briar all day and they didn't even know that we were dating."

Her smirk returns. "Well... did you do anything...?"

I shake my head to answer but also to get rid of the color in my cheeks. "No. We just hung out."

"Then, I'm pretty sure you're fine."

"So I don't have to worry about Gareth inserting me into his book and killing me off?"

Marlowe laughs, slapping her hand on my knee to steady herself. "Wow... You've been thinking about this, haven't you?"

I shrug. "I like Briar a lot, and I hope her family doesn't hate me like my family hates her."

Marlowe's smile slips. She nods, pulling her hand back. "That makes sense. I'm sorry."

I shake my head. "No. It's okay. I'll deal with it. I think Briar's worth that much and more."

Marlowe's smile returns. Just marginally dimmer. "That's cute. You two are cute."

I smile. "How long did you suspect?"

She holds her hand up. "Since forever." She shakes her head, interlacing her fingers around her knee. "The way you guys looked at each other and talked about each other said it all. And you guys call each other Hien and Lanh, so how could I not think you were gonna end up together?"

"Fair point."

But the more I think about how we're Hien and Lanh, the more I think about how Hien might have handled the whole Myron thing differently. I glance at Marlowe. I don't think it's my place to tell her about the whole situation. At the same time, I can't stop thinking about what Briar said about how I understand Myron but ended up like Hien while he ended up like Hai.