“Let’s just say she could not take care of us. So they took us away. They separated us. I never heard from them again.”
Mason immediately feels alarmed.
“It was a different situation from this one, very different. We had no one to take care of us. We didn’t have an Uncle Seth who loved and cared for us so much. We were alone.”
“And were you placed with a family?”
“I was in a home. A foster home. My siblings had the same fate.”
“And did you find them?”
I sigh and slowly shake my head.
His expression becomes serious and worried.
“It won’t happen again, Mason. It won’t happen to you. That’s a promise.”
ON HIS RETURN, Seth finds me in bed, intent on reading the notes from my latest trial.
“Hey,” he smiles at me. “You’re up.”
I show him the papers.
“Don’t tell me this is about us.”
“It may sound strange to you, but I have other cases.”
“Of course, that’s not what I meant. I know you’re not all ours.”
The way he says it, that voice just a little deeper, almost makes me wish I were.
“I’ll leave you to your things. I’ll get out of your way…” He points at himself. “I’m covered in oil and glitter. Maybe I should sleep in the chair tonight.”
“And why would you do that?” I ask, my heart racing at the thought of Seth deciding to sleep away from me.
God, when did I get to this point?
“I wouldn’t want you to wake up tomorrow with something of mine on you.”
A shiver runs down my spine.
“I mean… You wouldn’t want to go to work covered in fairy dust, would you?”
I think about it for a moment. The pounding of my heart is so loud it hurts. Suddenly all I care about is feeling his soft breathing next to my face at night.
“I’ll take the risk.”
* * *
AS SETH SLIPS under the sheets, I take off my glasses and place them on the floor, along with the papers I’ve been reading. I rub my eyes with my fingers for a few moments, then open them and turn them to Seth.
“You’re tired.”
“No more than usual.”
“You work too much. You should give yourself more leisure time.”
“I go to the gym.”
