Sheltered

Luca I’m a liar. To myself, mostly. I lie about the bruises. I lie about the manipulation. I lie about being in love. I even lie to Austin—my best friend in the entire world. After a forgotten text to Austin that Damien finds, my lies crumble. I can’t deny what he’s doing to me anymore. I can’t pretend that it’s love. And worst of all, I can’t hide it from Austin. All it takes is a middle of the night confession and Austin’s on a red-eye. At least I’m not a liar anymore. Austin is safety. He’s home. And he reminds me of who I am. Not who Damien made me believe I was. I spent so long convincing myself that happily ever afters weren’t real, but what if they are? And what if Austin is mine?

Austin They say hindsight is 20/20. At least that’s what I tell myself when I miss the signs—secret phone calls, stern warnings to never be the one who texts first, and a best friend who feels like a stranger. When Luca’s careful lies unravel, I know I have to get him away from Damien, so I leave in the middle of the night and get on a plane. Less than twelve hours later, he’s home with me. We’ve always been thick as thieves, but there’s something new there now. He turns to me for comfort, for safety, and for that piece of himself he lost with Damien. He doesn’t believe he deserves a happily ever after, but he does. He deserves it all. And I want nothing more than to be the man to give it to him. View Less