Switched'

thirtyeight

CHAPTER THIRTYEIGHT

| OMNISCIENT |
|MANHATTAN, NEW YORK|

The next morning felt unusually quiet.

Amelie stirred awake in Vinnie's bed, wrapped in a hoodie that didn't belong to her but smelled exactly like him. The way his scent lingered on her skin made her chest ache in a confusing, warm sort of way.

She sat up, rubbing her eyes, the remnants of yesterday's dream still clinging to her mind like static. Every time she glanced at Vinnie, the guilt tugged at her gut even though she hadn't done anything in real life.

Not really.

But it still felt real. Her lips tingled like they remembered Dax's kiss from that dream. She hated it.

She shuffled out of bed, padded quietly down the hallway, and peeked into the kitchen. Vinnie wasn't there. Her brows pinched together.

"Vinnie?" she called, voice hoarse.

"In the garage!" he shouted back.

She opened the door and saw him fiddling with something at the back of his car. The way he jumped slightly and slammed the trunk shut didn't go unnoticed.

"What are you hiding?" she asked with a teasing smile.

"Nothing," he said too quickly. His voice cracked slightly, which only made her grin widen.

"Liar," she muttered, walking toward him.

He caught her waist and pulled her close. "Why don't you mind your business, huh?"

Her laugh was short but full of warmth. "If it involves you, then it is my business."

Vinnie kissed her forehead but didn't say anything. He looked like he wanted to, though—like there was something sitting on his tongue just waiting for the right moment to fall off.

And that moment wasn't now.

⸻

Dax couldn't get her out of his head.

He sat on the edge of his bed, tapping his knee anxiously, replaying the dream version of Amelie confessing her love for him. The thing was... dream or not, it felt real because it was a mirror of everything he'd been holding in for years.

His phone buzzed. It was a text from her.

"Are you busy today? I need to talk to you. Just... talk."

He stared at it for a long time.

His thumb hovered over the keyboard before he typed back:

"Come through. You know where I'll be."

If she came over, he told himself he'd keep his distance. Be the friend she always needed. The protector. The safe place. But deep down, Dax knew he was already in too deep.

⸻

She shouldn't be doing this.

She told herself that over and over again as she drove across the bridge. But Vinnie had gone out with his cousin, and she couldn't get rid of the dream unless she saw Dax in real life and reminded herself of reality.

It wasn't supposed to be complicated.

She was in love with Vinnie. She was happy. Right?

But Dax... Dax was a different kind of love. He was the shadow in the back of her heart, the one who never left. The one who held her together before she even knew what love was.