Buried secrets, two girls with the same face, and a boy who loved too much.
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When Travis and Nicole meet on a bus for the first time, he thinks she's his ex, Rachel, who broke his heart two years ago. But he doesn't understand why she's pretendin...
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"HAVE YOU EATEN anything?" His voice was soft as he gently closed the door behind us with a click.
Moving to the neatly made bed, I dropped the backpack containing the clothes I wasn't ready to return and sat at the edge.
My gaze wandered to the window, staring as rain poured from the skies and splashed on the ground.
"Yeah," I replied, nodding.
"What did you eat?"
"Ice cream."
He let out a sigh and disappeared from the room.
Ten minutes later, he returned with a pasta dish with grilled chicken and plopped down on the bed next to me.
He brought a forkful of pasta to my lips. "Eat."
My brows lifted. "I can perfectly feed myself."
He smiled. "I know, but I want to do it anyway."
So I opened my mouth and accepted it. And I let him feed me until almost everything was finished and my stomach was full.
When he went back to the kitchen with the plate, my eyes filled as I replayed the way he looked at me with so much tenderness. In as much as I wanted to squirm underneath all that undivided attention, it tugged at my heartstrings.
It felt good to be taken care of, especially by him.
I sat straighter when he returned. When he took his previous spot next to me and took my hand, I looked at him. The genuine worry in his eyes made my heart stagger.
"Tell me what happened, baby."
Baby.
I bit my lip as a little pleasurable quiver coursed through me at the endearment. I really liked it, and the way he said it.
His thumb was tracing circles at the back of my hand, and it was so distracting in a good way I nearly forgot he was waiting for me to speak up.
Memories of what had transpired during the day pooled in my mind as I tried gathering my thoughts. I saw Raine's face. Coach Margaret's face. My aunt's face. My mom's face.
They haunted me, and I had no idea how to be free.
My gaze strayed to the floor as I whispered, "I'm so tired."
And as soon as the words left my mouth, I realized how true they were. There was a bone-deep exhaustion I suddenly felt, and trying to stay alive felt like too much work.
I hoped I wasn't spiraling into depression so soon.
"I know." His thumb, as it stroked the back of my hand gently, was the only thing keeping me rooted in his presence as I relived everything to him.
