Chapter 57
Katie
I fell asleep on the car ride home, my head on Tyler’s shoulder, his arm draped over mine. I listened to his heartbeat, to
the hum of his breathing, to the sound of his voice telling the driver where to turn, that he could take the private lane,
that it would be okay, to never mind, we would just walk, right here would be fine.
He carried me—my arms around his neck, the midnight sky a blur, the salt air smooth and easy on my skin—past the gate and
through the front door and up the stairs into my room. Everything, still a haze. Still a dream.
I murmured something, what, I do not know, and Tyler inhaled and then swept my cheekbone, slipped a blanket over me, and flicked
off the light. And just like that, that long and cruel first day of August faded to black. My broken heart, soft and warm
and filled to the brim.