Page 24 of Brick’s Anchor

"That's honest."

"You asked."

"Most people would lie."

"I'm not most people."

"No," she agrees softly. "You're really not."

Thunder rumbles in the distance. I look up at the sky. The stars are disappearing behind clouds rolling in fast. "Storm's coming."

"I like storms."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. They're loud. Chaotic. But honest. They don't pretend to be anything other than what they are."

I understand that. Understand finding comfort in things that are exactly what they claim to be, no hidden agendas or false promises. "We should head inside before it hits."

"I don't want to go back to the common room."

"You don't have to. There are other options."

"Like what?"

"Guest rooms upstairs. Or—" I hesitate. This is a bad idea. A terrible idea. The kind of idea that proves Saint right about me being fucked. "My room. If you want to keep talking. It's private. Quiet. Has a lock on the door."

She stares at me. "Your room."

"Yeah."

"You're inviting me to your room."

"To talk. That's it. No expectations. No pressure. Just a space that's not full of people. Where you can process without an audience."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because you look like you need it. And because I—" I stop myself before I say something stupid. Something that reveals too much. "Because we're already talking and you seem like you're not done yet."

Rain starts to fall. Light at first, then heavier. Within seconds it's a downpour.

Rosie stands. "Okay."

"Okay?"

"Your room. To talk. Nothing else."

"Nothing else," I confirm.

We run for the door. The rain soaks us in the thirty seconds it takes to get inside. Rosie's laughing by the time we're in the hallway, a real laugh, surprised and genuine. Water drips from her hair, from the leather cut, from both of us.

"That escalated quickly," she says.

"Millhaven storms. They don't fuck around."

We climb the stairs. The second floor is quiet. Most of the brothers are still downstairs or out on patrol. The women who aren't sleeping are probably still in the common room with Ivy, Eden and Nora. My room is at the far end of the hall.

I unlock it and push it open.