Page 59 of Always Love You More

She places both boots on the floor beside the bed, sets an alarm, and then turns off the light. The room falls into darkness, and I hear her climb into bed.

Enough time passes that I think she’s fallen asleep, but then her small voice breaks through the quiet. “Jameson, are you still awake?”

I turn my head toward her. “Yes.”

Chapter 16

Sam

Irolltomyside. “I can’t sleep.”

“Me neither,” he says.

“Can I …?” I start, my voice just above a whisper. “Can I come lay with you?”

He looks over at me, his face illuminated by the light of the moon, and watches me for a minute before he softly murmurs, “Yeah.”

Slipping out of bed, I take my blanket with me and climb in next to him, moving over until we’re side-by-side, keeping still so I won’t hurt him.

“You won’t break me,” he mutters.

You’re already broken, I want to say.

“Come here,” he breathes. He pulls his arm back and shifts.

Gently, I lower my head down to his chest and fit into the curve of his body. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me into him.

“Am I hurting you?” I ask.

“No, you’re fine.”

“Are you sure?”

He shushes me, bringing his hand down to my hair. He lightly strokes it and says, “You don’t have to worry about me.”

“But I do,” I tell him. “Worry about you.”

His hand stills.

“Whenever you get pulled away at the garage, I wonder where you are. If you come in late, I wonder if you’re okay. When I see another bruise or cut on your face, I wonder how you got it.” I swallow. “And today, when you went down … I was worried you weren’t gonna get up.”

“This is why I’m no good for you,” he says. “I don’t want you to always be worried.”

“I can’t help it.”

He begins to pull away from me, but I grab his arm and place it back around my waist. “Don’t,” I whisper.

“You don’t want this,” he states. “I’m not an easy person—”

“Neither am I,” I cut in before he can finish.

“No, you’re not like me.” He shakes his head. “This world isn’t for you. I mean, look at me.”

I tilt my head back and glance up at him. “You’re not gonna scare me away.” I lay my head against his chest again. “And how do you know I’m not like you? You don’t know what my life has been like.”

He goes still beneath me. “What does that mean?”

“My life has been hard, too,” I answer. “There’s lots of things about me that aren’t easy, that’re fucked up.”