Page 237 of What We Brave
I take a running start and launch myself into the center.
The landing is soft and perfect. I bounce once, twice, settle into the memory foam. Above me, the ceiling is freshly painted — Blake touched that up too, while he was at it, because he can't leave anything unfinished.
I spread my arms and legs out. Full starfish.
I can't touch the edges.
"This is completely ridiculous," I say to the ceiling. "I love it."
The mattress dips on my left — Blake lowering himself down. Then my right, Reid's weight settling in. We lie there, all three of us, staring up at the ceiling like we're stargazing.
I reach out both hands. Find theirs without looking.
Blake's fingers are rough, calloused from the workshop and the tile work and everything he builds. Reid's are smoother but just as strong. I hold on.
Something expands in my chest.
Two months since I moved in. Since we packed up my apartment in a single afternoon — turns out I hadn't accumulated much — and drove it over in Reid's truck.
Months filled with dinners and morning coffee and falling asleep next to someone — sometimes Blake, sometimes Reid, always doing the math, always counting nights.
No more counting. Not after tonight.
"What are you thinking about?" Reid asks.
"Everything. Nothing." I squeeze their hands. "How weird this is."
"Good weird?"
"The best weird."
Blake's thumb traces a circle on my palm. He doesn't say anything. Doesn't need to.
"Joyce asked about you two yesterday," I say. "At shift change."
"Yeah?" Reid props himself up on an elbow. "What'd she say?"
"She wanted to know if you were treating me right. Both of you." I smile. "I told her you made me coffee every morning and never complained about my cold feet, and she said that was the bare minimum."
"Tough crowd," Blake murmurs.
"She likes you. She just has standards."
"Day shift still good? You don't miss everyone?" Blake asks.
"Day shift is amazing." I sigh contentedly. "Regular hours. Actual sunlight. I forgot what it felt like to be awake when normal humans are awake." And yeah, I miss working with Joyce, but the trade offs are still worth it. Besides, the day crew is pretty great too.
"You're a normal human now?"
"Debatable. But adjacent."
Reid laughs, and the bed doesn't shake a bit. "Progress."
"I'll take it." I squeeze their hands. "I'm just saying. It's good. All of it. Better than I thought it would be."
"This, you mean? Living here? You thought it would be bad?" Reid asks looking like he's half asleep.
"I thought it would be harder." I look back at the ceiling. "I thought we'd fight more. Or someone would get jealous. Or I'd wake up one morning and realize I'd made a terrible mistake."
