“Why is she skittish?”

He grimaced. “She grew up in an abusive household. Her mom got sick when she was young and was in and out of hospitals. Between taking care of her mom and work, her stepdad was gone a lot. She was left with her stepbrother to watch out for her.” His jaw popped, and I could feel the anger rolling through him suddenly. “Let’s just say she didn’t have the childhood we did.”

Cautiously, I touched his arm. “I’m sorry. Is she okay now?”

He covered my hand with a nod. “Yeah, she’s tough. Strong and beautiful.” His face softened. “I think I love her.”

“I’m really happy for you, Garret,” I told him softly.

His fingers tightened around mine still on his arm. “Look, I know I’ve been an asshole the past few years. I have no excuse other than I was into a lot of drugs back then and bored out of my mind in this town. I hated it here…” He shrugged again. “I still hate it here. The only good thing about this place is Mom and Dad. I would say you are too, but you aren’t going to be here much longer.”

“I get it,” I said, watching him closely.

“See, in the past, the way you were so understanding and sweet…” He laughed humorlessly and shook his head. “It was fucking annoying, Nova. I hated it so damn much because I knew you didn’t want to be here any more than I did. But you were always smiling and making the best of it. I guess I expected you to be as miserable as I was, and part of me hated you because you weren’t. I was…jealous. That you could be happy when this was the last place either of us was meant to be happy.”

I pulled my hand free and hugged him around the waist. My heart melted a little when he wrapped his arms around me without hesitation. Closing my eyes, I whispered another mental thank you to Cali. “I know Creswell Springs isn’t for you, but for me, it wasn’t all bad. I mean, if it weren’t for Ryan, I could probably stay here for the rest of my life and be content. Not exactly happy, but not miserable. I knew you loved me, but there were times when you were cruel, Garret, and it made me wonder why you hated me so much.”

“I’m sorry,” he muttered, kissing the top of my head. “Forgive me?”

“This time,” I said with a huff as I looked up at him. “But I swear, if you ever turn back into a jerk, I’m going to kick your ass.”

He smirked. “Yeah, okay, shrimp.”

Rolling my eyes, I stepped back from him. “Better be nice to me, mister, or I’ll tell your Lis how big of a nerd you were in middle school.”

My brother snorted. “She knows.”

I gasped in surprise, sure that if there was anything he would take to the grave about his childhood, it would be his one-time obsession with all things Pokémon. “You told her about the Pokémon GO phase?”