Page 197 of Ghost Ribbon

Alexei looked anxious. His green eyes flicked away for half a second before forcing themselves back to mine. There weren’t many things in the world that made Alexei Morozov look like that. The sight alone made something protective rise in my chest.

A thin news report filtered up in my head from this morning when I heard the news.

“…authorities are still investigating the coordinated massacre that took place across New York earlier this month. One hundred and forty-seven people were killed in a single night. Officials describe the attacks as precise—”

How much of a coincidence could it possibly be?

I wasn’t stupid.

But I also wasn’t willing to let whatever truth lived behind that anxiety step between us.

I moved, rising onto my toes, I reached up and pressed my hand firmly over Alexei’s mouth, stopping whatever confession had been about to leave it. His eyes widened at once.

“I love you,” I confessed.

“I love you… so if what you’re about to say gets in the way of this… of us… in any way, then I need you to not say it.”

I didn’t actually know the exact shape of the secret he was carrying. There were a hundred possibilities, and only a few of them terrified me. But I knew him. I knew there weren’t many things that made him look this nervous. And I knew the massacre had happened on the same night my body finally gave out. The suspicion had lived in the back of my mind for weeks but I had chosen not to dig.

I had always been selfish when it came to Alexei Morozov.

I always would be.

My hand stayed over his mouth for another long second. I watched the way his eyes searched mine, wide and stunned, as if he had never expected those three words to come from me at all.

I lowered my hand. “Did you just say…”

I nodded. My fingers came up to cup his cheeks, thumbs brushing the line of his cheekbones with all the gentleness I possessed.

“Yes. I love you.” The second time felt even more real, even more necessary. “I love you a lot. So whatever it is you’re hiding… you don’t have to tell me. I don’t need to know if you don’t want to.”

The relief that crossed his face was nearly physical. His shoulders dropped. A shaky breath left him, warm against my wrists. He leaned in and pressed a kiss to my forehead. “I love you, baby.”

He pulled me against his chest. I went willingly, tucking myself into the warmth of him.

After a moment I tipped my head back so I could look into his eyes.

The stars were still above us, bright and endless.

I didn’t bother glancing at them.

I didn’t need a hope star anymore.

My star was right here on earth, and it had a name.

Alexei Morozov.

Two boys met beneath the stars,

and the heavens stitched their hearts together.

The End