Chapter 21
Shay
Greyson told me Landon’s birthday.
Today’s date.
The day Lance took his own life.
October 16th.
The hardest day of Landon’s life.
* * *
I didn’t see Landon until lunchtime. He was standing in the cafeteria, seconds away from picking up his lunch tray, and I darted toward him.
Without any words, I wrapped my arms around his frame and pulled him into the tightest hug known to mankind.
Everyone in the cafeteria was watching, I was sure.
Everyone was staring as Shay Gable wrapped her arms around her sworn enemy.
Everyone looked on as Landon Harrison wrapped his arms around me, too.
He hugged me back.
Oh my gosh, he was hugging me back, and that made me tug on his body even harder. There was no way to tell where his heartbeats began and where mine ended. It was as if they were beating as one, as if we were two willows tangled up with each other.
For his birthday, he smelled like smoky oak and dressed like darkness.
My favorite version of him—the realest one.
“Happy birthday, Satan,” I whispered, my head resting on his chest. I wasn’t even sure he heard me. The words were so quiet as they rolled off my tongue.
He pulled me in closer, kissed the top of my head, and then rested his chin there. “Thank you, Chick,” he said softly, his words cracking as if they were hard to get out.
“Always,” I replied.
I think I meant that.
I think I meant always.