Page 26 of Hale

“I’ll try.”

Lately, my life feels so fucked up, but in the dark, it feels okay. With Rylie safe and cared for, I feel relaxed and not so goddamned stressed.

“When you graduate, can I live with you?” she asks, her hot breath tickling my face.

“Yes,” I say without hesitation. Amy will just have to get over it. If that’s what Rylie needs to thrive, then so be it.

“I still won’t make you food,” she teases.

My heart clenches in my chest. It’s the first sign of happiness in my sister I’ve seen all night. “I’ll just have to find something to eat,” I say, clacking my teeth as though I’m seeking out something to eat on her.

“Hudson,” she hisses, laughter in her voice.

I playfully bite her. Her jaw it would seem. We both freeze.

“I’m sick,” she whimpers. Another reminder.

“Maybe I’m sick too.” I press a kiss to the place I just bit her.

She lets out a groan and her fingers rake down the side of my arm. I kiss her jaw again. Or is it her neck?

“I like it when you laugh,” I whisper, my lips dusting over her flesh. “I like it when you eat.” I clutch her bare ribs again. “I like it when you’re happy.”

Nothing makes sense right now.

In an effort to comfort Rylie, I’ve lost sight of who we are.

The darkness hides us.

For a minute, we’re free.

Her thigh slides over my hip. Dirty thoughts run rampant in my mind. Maybe I should have fucked Amy to clear my head because right now, my thoughts are not where they should be.

“Rylie,” I groan, my lips hovering over her neck. “I don’t think this is normal.”

“I like how this makes me feel.”

Digging deep for some shred of self-control, I pry my lips away from her neck and slide my palm away from her bare flesh. It had been inching up and I was going to do something more than an accidental touching. That’s the last thing I need to do. Fuck my sister up even more.

“Maybe you should sleep in your bed,” I grumble, hating the words as they leave my mouth.

“Please don’t make me leave.” Her voice cracks at the end.

Hauling her closer, I hug her tight. “Never. Just go to sleep. Otherwise…” My words hang heavy in the air. “Just go to sleep.”

“I’ll try.”

“I’ll try too.”

“Hudson?”

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t be weird about this tomorrow.”

I smile and kiss her hair. “I’ll try.”

“I’ll try too.”