“That’s good. I’d hate to have to carry you.”
“Lie.”
I snorted. It was surreal being back here with him as he was now. Even in my wildest dreams while on the secret highways, I never allowed myself to think this far ahead. How it would be if I found him and brought him back. I was at a loss as to what to do. What to say. How I should act, what I should ask him. There was so much I needed him to hear, but I could think of none of it.
We stopped in front of a closed door.
“Room,” he said. “Our room.”
“Our room,” I echoed. Then, “You don’t have to stay here. Not if you don’t want to. Kelly told me he and Robbie are back in the blue house now that all the Omegas are gone. His old room is empty, if you want it. Or anywhere else.”
“Stay here,” he said. “Better.”
“For who?”
“You,” he said. “So you don’t die.”
I sighed. “I’m not going to die.”
“You say that. How many times you almost die?”
He had a point. We seemed to almost die more than I cared to think about. “We’re safe here. We—you can heal.”
His scowl deepened. “Not broken.”
I held up my hands. “Not saying you are, dude. But I know how I feel. And I can imagine what it must be like for you. We’ve been through shit for a long time.”
“Not dude.”
He looked outraged when I flicked him in the forehead. “Yeah, that’s not going to happen no matter how much you say it. And listen to me.”
He batted my hand away. “I am. I always do. You never stop. I listen to you. You need to listen to me.” He had a stubborn set to his jaw as he glared at me.
“I can do that. I can listen.”
“I stay here.”
“Good to know,” I muttered, but he wasn’t fooled. He pressed against my back as I turned toward the door, urging me forward. I twisted the doorknob and pushed it open.
The room had been cleaned recently, though motes of dust hung in the air. I stepped inside, and Gavin followed. I collapsed onto my bed with a groan. The bed in the cabin had been terrible. Mine was soft, the blankets heavy and warm. I pressed my face into the pillow. It smelled like Kelly and Joe, as if they’d lain here in my absence. I told myself I was just going to rest for a moment before getting up and going back downstairs. But my eyelids were heavy, and I felt like I could relax for the first time in a long time.
I opened my eyes again to see Gavin standing naked above me.
I groaned and put my hand over my eyes. “Come on. You gotta warn me when you’re going to do that.”
“Oh. Carter?”
“Yeah?”
“I took off my clothes.”
I peered at him through my fingers. “You’re a fucking asshole. And I swear to god, if you’re making fun of me, I’m going to end you.”
“Not make fun. Don’t know how.”
“You’re a goddamn liar, and you know it.”
He shrugged. “Prove it.”