Chapter 166
Summer's POV
The image of me actually fighting anyone was probably ridiculous—I'd never thrown a punch in either of my lives—but in that moment, I meant it with every fiber of my being. If some girl had confessed to Kieran, if someone else was trying to claim what I'd been working toward for weeks, for months, for years across two timelines, I would absolutely march up to her and—
"There's nobody, Summer." He was laughing again, shaking his head at my expression, which was probably somewhere between murderous and terrified. "I'm kidding. I'm yours, okay? Nobody can take me away from you. I promise."
The relief that flooded through me was so intense it made me dizzy, made my knees weak, made me want to cry and laugh at the same time. "Really?"
"Really." His voice dropped lower, became serious in a way that made my breath catch, that made everything else fade away until there was just him and me and this promise hanging in the air between us like something sacred. "I'll protect you, Summer. I'll never betray you. I swear."
I couldn't help it. I threw my arms around him, buried my face in his shoulder, breathed in the scent of mint and laundry detergent and something uniquely him that I wanted to memorize, wanted to keep forever. His arms came around me immediately, holding me close, holding me tight, and for just a moment, everything was perfect, everything was exactly as it should be—
A car horn beeped behind us, shattering the moment. I turned to see Mia's Honda pulling up to the curb, her face visible through the windshield with an expression that was half amused and half impatient. "Summer! It's getting late. We should get you home before your mom actually kills you."
Reluctantly, so reluctantly it physically hurt, I pulled away from Kieran, immediately missing his warmth, his solid presence, the way his arms had felt around me. "See you at school," I said, backing toward Mia's car while keeping my eyes locked on his face, trying to memorize every detail, every angle, every expression. "I'm already missing you."
He smiled then, this beautiful, radiant smile that transformed his entire face, that made him look like an angel despite the bruises still swelling on his cheekbone. It was the happiest smile I'd ever seen on him, the most open, the most genuine, full of sunshine and hope and something that looked dangerously close to the emotion I was too scared to name yet. "See you at school. Can't wait to watch your cheerleading performance. Text me when you get home safe, okay?"
I nodded, not trusting my voice, and finally forced myself to turn away, to climb into Mia's passenger seat, to let her pull away from the curb while I twisted around to watch Kieran through the rear window until he disappeared into the darkness, until all I could see was the glow of the convenience store and the empty street where we'd almost kissed, where everything had almost changed.
"So," Mia said, her voice carefully neutral in that way that meant she was absolutely bursting with questions and commentary. "That looked intense."
I slumped in my seat, pressing my hands to my still-burning cheeks, my heart still racing like I'd just run a marathon. "We almost kissed."
"I noticed. The entire neighborhood probably noticed. You two were about two seconds away from giving that convenience store the show of its life."
"My mom called." I groaned, covering my face with my hands. "Right before we—right when we were about to—God, Mia, the timing was so bad."
"Your mom's timing has always been impeccable," Mia said dryly, navigating through the quiet streets toward Back Bay, toward my house and the conversation I was definitely not prepared to have. "So what now? Are you two together? Did he actually say the words?"
I thought about his promise, about the way he'd said he was mine, about the ring I was still wearing and the smile that had made my heart stop. "I think so? Maybe? I don't know. We didn't really define it. But he said he was mine. He said nobody could take him away from me."
"That's pretty definitive, Summer."
"Is it?" I twisted the butterfly ring on my finger, watching it catch the streetlights as we drove. "What if he changes his mind? What if he realizes I'm too much, too intense, too—"
"Stop." Mia's voice was firm, cutting through my spiral of anxiety with the authority of someone who'd known me since freshman year, who'd seen me at my worst and somehow still chose to be my friend. "That boy looks at you like you hung the moon. Like you're the only person in the world who matters. Trust me, he's not going anywhere."
I wanted to believe her. God, I wanted to believe her so badly it hurt. But I'd lived through one timeline where everything had gone wrong, where I'd lost everything that mattered, and the fear of repeating those mistakes, of making new ones, of somehow ruining this perfect, fragile thing between Kieran and me, was almost overwhelming.
"I really like him, Mia," I whispered, finally admitting it out loud, finally putting words to the feeling that had been growing in my chest since the day I'd walked into that classroom and seen him sitting there with his damaged hand and his guarded eyes and his brilliant, beautiful mind. "I like him so much it scares me."
"I know, honey." Mia reached over to squeeze my hand, her grip warm and reassuring. "I know. And you know what? I think he really likes you too. So maybe just let yourself be happy for once. Let yourself have this. You deserve it."
As we pulled up in front of my house, I could see lights blazing in every window, could imagine my mother pacing in the foyer, checking her watch, preparing the lecture she was about to deliver. But for once, I didn't care. For once, the inevitable scolding seemed like a small price to pay for the memory of Kieran's hand on my face, for the almost-kiss that still tingled on my lips, for the promise he'd made and the smile that had stolen my breath.
I deserved this. I deserved him. And I was going to fight like hell to keep it.