Page 64 of Peripheral Vision (Tethered in Darkness Duet #1)

DYLAN

SIX MONTHS LATER

“ Y ou can be a real son of a bitch, you know that?” I say as I pull a shirt on from my closet.

His laugh is low, dark, like it always is when he’s trying to hide how much he’s enjoying himself. “I’ve been told.”

I roll my eyes, not that he can see it. His presence in the room has me tense, but it’s not an unfamiliar tension.

The kind that runs through me in a way only he can make it.

The shirt slips over my head, and when I turn back, he’s standing there—arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe, eyes holding an amused glint.

“You going to be like this all day?” I ask, trying to sound annoyed but failing.

“Depends,” he says, a grin tugging at the corner of his mouth. “How much longer are you planning to pretend like you’re not enjoying this?”

I can feel my pulse quicken, the weight of his words heavier than it should be. But I don’t answer. What’s the point? We both know the truth .

“Get over here,” he says, his voice a soft command, but I hesitate, knowing that we’re on a timeline.

We’re supposed to meet Nathan for lunch before going job searching for me once more.

Hence the reason for my frustration, because while he is usually a welcome distraction, he’s been doing everything in his power to prevent us from leaving the house today.

He seems to think that Nathan is of little importance and that I don’t need to work and should rely on him for all of my needs.

But I’m finally ready to reintegrate into society, going so far as letting him vet potential employment to make sure it’s up to his standards.

I haven’t decided whether or not to re-enroll in classes, but I’m taking baby steps.

“I’m serious,” he says, his voice deepening, low enough that it rumbles in my chest. That does it.

I take a step forward, then another, until there’s nothing between us.

His hand finds my waist as if it’s been there a thousand times before, and for a moment I almost forget how to breathe.

I don’t know how he does it, but it’s like the first time every time.

“If you keep looking at me like that I’m not going to be able to stop.

” Damn him. His lips crash against mine a moment later, telling me that I did not, indeed, stop looking at him like that.

It’s desperate and hungry, like we’ve both been starving for it.

And maybe in some ways we have been. It’s only been a few months since we’ve allowed ourselves to have this.

They’ve been a mess of complicated feelings, of unspoken words, of healing that’s still not complete and might not ever be, and now we’re finally here.

I pull away, breathless, my hands clutching the front of his shirt like I’m trying to hold him here, even though I know he’s never leaving.

He must see the change of emotion on my face because he pulls me into his chest. “What is it, little viper?”

“Just… thinking,” I say.

“About?”

“Everything. How far I’ve come. How far we’ve come. Some days, it still feels like a dream. Like I’ll wake up and it’ll all?—”

He cups my face in his hands, tilting my head up toward him. “It’s not a dream. You’re here. We’re here. And no one is taking that away.”

His conviction always has a way to steady me. “We need to go,” I whisper, and I swear he rolls his eyes. But before he has a chance to say anything, my phone chimes from my back pocket. I pull it out and unlock the screen. Thea’s name lights up the screen, along with a message:

I need you. It’s important.

My chest tightens. I wasn’t the only one who had been through a lot this year, and I feel so guilty that I wasn’t able to be with Thea when it mattered the most because I’ve been healing from my own trauma still.

My fingers hover over the keyboard, the weight of guilt pressing down on me.

I know Thea needs me, but I’ve been hiding from my own feelings, avoiding the wreckage of what happened.

She swears she understands, especially when I opened up about everything I went through…

but even now, reading her message, my mind races with a thousand things I could have done differently when she first reached out with the news.

I take a deep breath and type back quickly.

What’s going on? Are you okay?

Seconds feel like hours as I wait for her response, the silence amplifying the worry gnawing at me. Fletcher squeezes my shoulders, soothing the tension there. “Everything good?”

I’m about to answer him when the phone vibrates again, and I scramble to read the new message.

I’m not okay. I need you. Can you come home?

I look up at Fletcher. “Change of plans, we’re going home.

” He doesn’t even question me, pulling out his own phone as he reaches out to Nathan, canceling for the day.

I used to hate the way he was able to read me, but now it’s one of my favorite things about him.

I grab my jacket, the keys to the truck, and we head for the door.

Alaska is laying on her bed in her usual spot.

“You coming, girl?” She perks up at the invitation, knowing that Thea might need her just as much as I have the last few months.

Whatever is going on, I won’t leave her hanging this time.