Page 124 of The Sound of Him

Charger to your left fits your iPod.

I’m probably forgetting something.

Let me know if you need anything else?

Glad you’re here.

A

Then,

P.S. Your favorite worry stone is on the side table.

It is, too. Placed perfectly on the corner nearest to me, the lamp hiding it from anyone who might sit on the couch. Protecting it.

I trace my finger over the words. So many words. Even in his notes, he can’t help but ramble a little.

I jump when the music suddenly starts, the song “Wannabe” kicking off with loud and high-pitched vocals. I peek over the table to see Ace, unable to stop myself from seeking out the brightest light in the room. He’s singing along, just as high-pitched as the Spice Girls, turning in his chair to point a finger at me as he belts the words out. He’s doing this weird thing with his head, moving it to the beat of the song like a crooked bobblehead.

I watch him, watch the sunshine dazzle of his joy, the man lit up so bright that whatever darkness exists can’t touch him. Can’t touchme.

He looks over at me again, our eyes locking, and grins.

All of that sunshine pours into me, warm and brilliant, lighting me up from the inside out.

For the first time in a long time, I find it so impossibly easy to smile back.

Chapter Twenty-six

Ace

I stop stalling and head down to Adam’s office once Matt leaves mine. I rap my knuckles against his office door, trying not to crawl out of my skin when he calls for me to come in.

He’s sitting at his desk, hunched over a stack of papers, but lets himself rest back in his chair as I close the door behind myself. I raise an eyebrow at him and smirk. He matches the expression with his own.

I promised Keaton three things - I’d meet with Adam regularly, I’d be better about my sleep, and I’d quit the uppers.

I didn’t promise anything about alcohol, though, so I reach down to the bottom of his cart of snacks and drinks and slide my hand beneath it to find the bottle of very expensive scotch. I grab two of his glasses off the cart and head his way.

He shuffles some of the papers on his desk around before sliding a few inside a textbook and flipping it closed.

He takes his glasses off and rubs at his eyes as I pour us each a drink. He looks about as tired as I feel right now. The first two weeks we were here, he’d nearly lived in his office almost asmuch as I did. Things had started to settle, though. He’d been spending most nights in his room in the auxiliary house, his phone set on high volume in case we had an emergency here.

Ever since Carter and Casey sprang their news, I’ve only seen him outside of his office a single time, when he sat in my office so we could all have dinner last night.

I pour him a double.

I carefully avoid looking at the packets and books spread out across his desk. The most detail I catch is a pink sticky note in the center of a loose paper and an uncapped highlighter resting on an open book. A book about speech therapy. Then I catch myself.

“Worried?” I ask, needing my mind to have something better to focus on than whether or not that book is meant for Matt. I place his glass in front of him as I wait for him to answer, taking a seat in the chair opposite the desk.

“Worried about you?” he counters. “Or about Carter and Casey?”

I give him alook. “Let’s start with Carter and Casey.”

“Yes.” There’s no hesitation. He looks relieved to admit it, even, almost like a held breath I’ve finally allowed him to release. “But can I be cynical as all hell for a minute?”

I smirk. This is a very rare state for Adam Singh. I can't help but think of how much Kellan would love to see it. Not that he'd enjoy seeing the man distressed, but it's obvious to anyone with eyes that the ability Adam has to keep himself perfectly put together in even the most trying of times drives Kellan fucking nuts, an impressive feat considering the whole antisocial thing. Then again, Kellan brought the problem onto himself. After nearly 20 years of fooling psychologists, he finally met his match with Dr. Adam Singh.And what did he do?He turned around andhiredthe guy. That's just asking for a headache, if you ask me. A surprising twist, too, considering Kellan doesn't acceptheadaches from anyone outside of his very small circle, a circle that seems to have somehow extended to include Adam in a way the rest of the circle has never been able to fully understand.