"You up?"

I am up. I'm currently staring at my phone, trying to build up the courage to send a similar text to Theo.

But it isn't Theo texting me.

"Really Cal, you're sending me you up texts after your wife fed me dinner?"

"Ha. Get dressed. I'm coming over."

"Why?"

When I don't get an immediate reply, I squint at the time on my phone. It's after midnight. Why the hell is Cal coming over here now?

With a sigh, I sit up from where I'm lying on the couch and go unlock the front door.

I don't have to worry about changing out of my pyjamas because I never bothered changing into any. Leggings and a hoodie are comfortable enough for lounging on the couch and staring at my phone like a lovesick teen. I don't expect to get much sleep without Theo around, and my pyjamas could probably use a wash anyway.

There's a soft knock on the door a moment later, and I open it for Cal to step through. He's holding a thick blanket over one arm.

"What are you doing here?" I ask, studying his face to figure out if something is wrong. "It's almost one in the morning."

"I know. The timing is supposed to be perfect though," he explains with a shrug. "I'm just glad you're still awake. Let's go."

He takes my hand in his and starts pulling me through the living room towards the kitchen.

"Cal..." I pull back on his hand slightly but he doesn't stop walking or pulling me along. "Are you okay?"

He didn't look high when I saw his face. He doesn't seem very stressed either... But this is weird, and I'm concerned for him.

"Did something happen with April?"

He looks over his shoulder at me with a devilish grin. "Yah. She woke up and was feeling better... Kinda weird of you to ask though, Em."

"For fucks sake, Cal. That's not what I was getting at!"

He fucking giggles to himself and keeps tugging on my arm until we're standing at the back door in the dark kitchen. Once he has released his hold on me, he unlocks the door and then steps onto the back patio where he shakes out the blanket and lays it down on the wooden boards.

"Come on," he says while sitting on the blanket and then lying back to look up at the sky.

I sigh and shake my head with bafflement. It turns out, Cal doesn't have to be high to be batshit crazy... though I feel like I already knew this on some level.

Lowering myself on the blanket, I follow Cal's lead and lie down on my back.

I wait for him to finally explain what the hell is going on, but when he doesn't say anything for a full minute I turn my head to the side to look at him. "Are you going to tell me what's going on?"

"I'm waiting for my eyes to adjust," he answers simply.

"Adjust to what?"

"The darkness."

"Cal—"

"Shh. You should look up at the sky. Your eyes will adjust faster."

I turn my head away from him to look up as a scowl settles over my face. I shift in place, trying to get more comfortable, and now it's Cal's turn to look at me.

"Here," he offers while stretching an arm out above my head.

I sit up a bit to scoot back and then rest my head on his bicep.

He momentarily tenses but slowly his muscles relax, and he continues staring up at the sky. "Are you seeing them now?" he asks in a quiet voice.

"Yes." I know he means the stars. As I lie on my back next to him, more and more of them seem to appear. They light up the sky with their twinkling hues and untold stories. If only they knew how many stories they were a part of here on earth.

"There's supposed to be a meteor shower tonight. The best time to see it is around this time," he explains, still speaking in a quiet tone. It's as if he thinks speaking too loud will let the magic of the sky know that it's being watched. "Did you ever get to see your shooting star, Emy?"

The stars above twinkle in blurs while my eyes fill with tears. "No. Never."

"Bet you'll see one tonight. Maybe more than one."

I smile while moving closer to him to press into his side. "You still remember that?"

"I told you, I remember everything," he answers while curling his arm up around my shoulders. "Well... maybe not everything. But the important stuff. And I remember this felt pretty damn important."

I tilt my head to the side to look at him again.

He's still beautiful. The features of his face come together so flawlessly that they almost challenge the beauty of the sky above us.

I have memories of that mouth moving against mine and over parts of my body. The way it made me feel so wanted and cherished and fucking on fire...

But over top of those memories now are the thoughts of Theo's mouth. His beard scratching against my face. The smouldering look in his eyes while he gives me just enough to light me up a million different ways while also managing to hold himself back from stepping over any boundaries that he's put in place for himself.

He's not what someone would consider beautiful. Not with his dark expressions and the scar through his eyebrow. Even when I saw a younger picture of him on April's fridge, he didn't come close to possessing the same beauty that everyone can clearly see in Cal.

And yet, if I had a choice of who I'd rather be next to right now, I'd choose Theo.

The realization turns my smile into a small frown.

"Cal... is this okay?" I ask him in a careful whisper. I don't want him to think that I don't appreciate this but I need some perspective on what we're doing right now if I'm going to fully enjoy this moment.

"Hmm?" he asks while tilting his chin down to look at me.

"You think April would be okay with this?"

He sighs and chews on his lower lip. "If I'm being completely honest, I've been asking myself the same thing... I wouldn't do this with any other woman. That's for sure. But since you've gotten here, all those lines are starting to blur."

He frowns at his own explanation and then quickly tries to explain it better. "I don't mean that as in I want you... No offence, but I don't. But I'm just comfortable around you. My body... knows you. I don't feel nasty about you touching me but I don't feel turned on either... It's weird."

He pauses and looks up at the sky again. "I've never liked being touched. Unless it was something sexual by someone I was into. But I think with therapy and the way I've been healing, I'm starting to be okay with touch in a comforting sense. I enjoy hugs from Monster. I don't even mind when Theo hugs me, and even when Justin was here being all touchy-feely, I felt mostly okay with it. And with you... Well, I've never not enjoyed your touch. I just enjoy it in a different way now. But yah, even knowing it's not a sexual enjoyment, I can't decide if April wants to rip your head off." He lets out an awkward laugh.

"Obviously, she'd never say anything to you or me, unless she was really uncomfortable, and I know she likes you and that she's not uncomfortable with you being here. I've asked her. But I do still wonder... I just didn't want to say anything to you, especially when you first got here. I don't want you to think that I don't want you around."

He takes a deep breath and then laughs again. "Damn, I just spouted off a lot, and I don't know if any of it made any frickin sense."

I smile with a short laugh of my own. "It made sense. But what I'm hearing is that we should probably stop? With our history... If I was April, I wouldn't want me to touch you. Even if there's nothing there anymore."

The truth of my last statement hits me hard. There really is nothing there for Cal anymore... Not the way there was before.

"Yah, that's a good idea," Cal agrees. "I might still hug you sometimes though."

I smile and turn my face away from him to look up at the sky again. "I might do the same."

There's a quiet moment between us, and then Cal mumbles, "So... You're sorta still lying on my shoulder."

I laugh again and snuggle into his side a tad bit more. "It's one in the morning, these have been some of the most emotional days I've had in a while, and I'm comfortable. We'll stop touching each other after tonight."

His cheek presses against the top of my head, and his arm around my shoulders holds me a little closer. "Yah. Okay. Sounds good, Emy."

We don't talk anymore as we focus our attention on the night sky. Time has no meaning to me as if I have somehow drifted up to join the very stars I'm watching. And that's when I see it.

I gasp in awe as the quick glimmer streaks through the black.

Cal's cheek moves against my head, revealing that he's smiling, and he gives my shoulder a gentle squeeze. "I'm always going to love you, Emy. Even if that love is different now."

The tears that threatened to spill from my eyes earlier are back again, and this time one falls down my cheek while my throat tightens.

"I love you too, Cal," I manage to answer in a choked whisper.

The deep sound of a throat clearing behind us immediately puts all my senses on high alert, and I curl into Cal's body to seek protection.

He keeps me tucked close to his side, and in one fluid motion, he sits our bodies up and leans forward to pull a pocket knife from his shoe.

"It's me," Theo's voice comes through the darkness.

"Holy shit, man!" Cal nearly shouts while slamming his pocket knife down beside him. "You couldn't have called or texted to let us know you were coming home after all?" He releases his tight hold on me to turn around and face Theo, and I do the same.

"I didn't expect you to be here," Theo answers in a calm voice. The lack of expression on his face makes it hard to tell if he really is calm.

"Not me. Emy," Cal says as if it's obvious.

"I don't have her number," Theo replies.

Cal frowns while looking back at me. "You didn't text him after I gave you his number?"

"I... I didn't want to bother you," I say to Theo while nervously chewing on my lip.

His impassive expression turns into a frown. I start to stand, and he steps forward to take my hand and help me.

"There's a meteor shower," Cal explains while bringing himself to his feet as well. He slides his knife into his jeans' pocket. "I wanted to watch it with Emy."

I lean into Theo to hug him, and he wraps an arm around my waist to pull me closer. "I saw my first shooting star," I tell him softly, still trying to gauge what it is that he's feeling. "It was so amazing..."

"Wow. Sounds exciting." His reply sounds far from excited.

"It was. There will probably be more to see." I glance at Cal and then back at Theo. "You should watch it with us."

Theo tilts his head back to look at the sky but then brings his chin back down to meet my eyes. "I'm pretty tired. I'm just going to go to bed. I only came out here because I wasn't sure where you were and I noticed the door was unlocked."

"Oh, okay." I try to not let my disappointment show because I do understand where he's coming from. "It is really late... How's Owen, by the way?"

"He's good. His ankle is fractured, and he's pretty bruised up, but he realizes it could have been much worse."

"Oh, that's so good! Great news." I smile at him and lay my head against his shoulder while I give him another hug.

"Monster will be glad to hear it," Cal says with a bit of an awkward laugh.

"Yeah," Theo agrees in a flat voice. "Anyway... I'm gonna head in. Goodnight, Milia." He squeezes me closer for a short moment and then looks at Cal. "Night, Cal."

"Night," Cal replies, and there's no mistaking how awkward he feels.

"Goodnight, Theo. I'll be in soon." I stand on my tiptoes with the hope that he'll kiss me but he only bows his head to briefly press his cheek into mine.

"Don't come in on my account." He releases his hold on me and takes a step back. "I was just wondering where you were. Wouldn't have interrupted otherwise."

"You weren't interrupting anything," Cal starts with irritation in his voice, "We were just—"

"Okay," Theo says before Cal can finish. He walks back toward the house, either ignoring me or conveniently not hearing me when I call out after him.

I watch him until the door closes and then turn to Cal. "I think I'm going to head inside too."

"I was going to say the same thing."

"Thanks for tonight, Cal. It was..."

"Pretty amazing until grumpy Theo showed up, huh?" He smirks to himself but then glances at the house as his smile fades. "Go easy on him. He handled things a lot better than I would have."

"He definitely did, but that's not exactly hard to do. You put on a heavy act to follow." It's my turn to smirk even though I don't feel very amused right now.

Cal nods. "He's probably thinking the same thing... At least the second part, but in a positive light."

"Well, that's stupid. He's way better than—" I stop short when Cal lifts his eyebrows.

"Wooow, Emy," he draws out. "Thanks." He's grinning and laughing while he says it though, so I know he's not actually offended.

I laugh too and am grateful for the small relief from the tension that has come over us since Theo came home. "Really though, Cal. It was magical, just like I always thought it would be. Thank you so much."

"Ahh." He waves a hand through the air as if he's swatting my thanks away. "It was nothing. I just didn't want to watch it alone, and April was fast asleep again."

I roll my eyes while I step toward him to give him a hug. "Whatever you say. I'll see you tomorrow."

He smiles while he hugs me back and then crouches down to pick up the blanket. "Goodnight, Emy."

I wave at him while he walks around the side of the house to go back home, and then take a deep breath and open the door to slip back into Theo's kitchen.

I find him sitting on the couch, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. He's staring down at a book in his hands, and when I get closer I realize that it's Cal's copy of The Lord of the Rings book I was reading earlier.

"I was so surprised when I found it on your shelf," I explain while I take a seat next to him.

Theo tosses the book onto the coffee table, next to the notebook we were arguing over this morning. "I know the feeling. I half expected him to take it with him when he married April and moved out of my house."

"That may have been a little weird, don't you think?"

As soon as the words are out of my mouth I regret saying them. The pointed look Theo gives me doesn't help.

"Are you mad?" I blurt out the question before I can tempt myself to skirt around it.

He shakes his head and leans back against the cushions. "Just didn't expect to find you cuddled up with my brother-in-law on my back porch, that's all."

I frown and fiddle with the bottom of my hoodie. "It's not like that..."

"Like what?"

"We weren't doing anything, Theo!" I exclaim, beginning to feel frustrated with the whole situation.

"I didn't say you were," he replies with a calm voice but his expression makes him look a little frustrated as well.

"Your face is!"

His frown intensifies and then his furrowed eyebrows slowly smooth out,  and he rubs the spot between them with a couple of his fingertips. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired. It's been a long day."

I remember Cal's advice to go easy on him, and I sigh when I realize I haven't been doing that.

He has every right to be confused and frustrated right now, and I'm not helping the situation at all by acting defensively.

"I'm sorry too." I lean towards him to cuddle into his shoulder, and Theo smiles while reaching up to gently smooth a hand down the back of my head. "And... I think I'm going to take another look at the list in that notebook."

Theo's hand goes still in my hair mid-stroke. "Yeah?" he asks while beginning the run his fingers through my hair again.

I give a short nod. "Yeah, I talked a lot to Cal today about therapy, and he sort of convinced me that maybe it would be good for me."

He pauses his movements again. "Right. If Cal says so, then it must be a good idea."

Shit.

"No, Theo. That's not what I meant," I try to explain but Theo is already sitting forward and carefully moving me away from his shoulder.

"No, no. I get it. I'm just glad you're agreeing to go now." He smiles at me but it looks a little forced. "I'm going to hop in the shower. I didn't get a chance to yet. Do you want me to get your pyjamas from upstairs?"

I stand up too. I want to talk more about our latest misunderstanding but the exhaustion on his face is enough evidence that it might be best to leave it alone now. "No, they're in my ever-growing pile of laundry. Do you have a shirt I could borrow?"

"Yeah." The single word comes out of him quickly, and I find myself smiling. Maybe he likes the idea of me wearing his clothes. "You can use my laundry machine, you know. And if you need to go shopping for more clothes, you can take my card. I could bring you after work sometime or—"

"Theo, I'm not taking your money. I need a damn job... I will take you up on using your laundry machine though."

"Do you need help making a resume or..."

The expression on my face shuts him up.

"I don't even have a proper ID, and I have no jobs worth putting on a resume," I explain as the hopelessness of the situation really settles over me.

"Let me talk to Heidi. She's the friend with the diner. I'm sure she could use your help."

I want to protest. I need to stop relying on Theo so much and figure out how to make my own way, but having a job will be a good first step in making that possible. "Okay," I agree. "I know how to cook and I was basically a waitress at my old place so... Yeah, that sounds like a good idea. Thank you, Theo."

He looks momentarily surprised—I'm sure he didn't expect me to agree with him on something without an argument—and then a smile lights up his face. "No problem, Princess. One t-shirt coming right up."

I smile back at him and flop back down on the couch when he turns around to walk upstairs.

----------

By the time Theo is done having his shower, I'm already half asleep on the couch, wearing the soft grey t-shirt that he handed me before heading to the bathroom.

His soft footsteps move through the living room, and I smirk to myself when he stops walking when he's still a couple of feet away from the couch.

The shirt is huge on me so I didn't bother with pants. Though my back is towards him and I can't see his face, I can just imagine the thoughts running through his mind.

"I know you're not sleeping," he mumbles in a low voice.

"I was waiting for you," I explain, playing innocent.

Theo isn't buying it though. "You need to wear pants, Milia."

I roll from my side to my back so that I can look up at him. "My pyjama pants need to be washed, and I don't like wearing leggings to bed."

He narrows his eyes at me, and I grin while I roll onto my side again. "Go sleep in your bed if you can't handle it. I'm comfortable."

I really hope he doesn't listen to me...

The couch dips behind me, and Theo's hips bump into me while he pushes me forward to make some room for himself. His palm skims up my thigh, making me catch my breath, but rather than slip under the oversized t-shirt he grips the hem of it and tugs it down further.

"This is where I sleep," he says close to my ear, and a shiver runs through me.

"I thought you were sleeping at a motel or in your truck tonight," I answer quietly.

"I tried but I kept thinking about you, and your sweet mouth, and the way I needed a goodnight kiss, and so... here I am."

"And yet," I tisk, "you haven't kissed me since you got home."

"Get your mouth over here." He tugs on my shoulder to turn my body towards him, and I quickly reposition myself to face him.

His hands come up to hold my face while his mouth covers mine, and in just milliseconds, every argument or misunderstanding that we've had today is dashed away as if it never existed.

It's even more magical than a shooting star.