Into the Stars (USC Series Book #2)

chapter thirty

"Where are we going?" Brinley questions when she notices the sudden change from concrete to dirt underneath the tires. She has since gotten comfortable, tucking her legs into her chest, her frame facing the passenger window.

I can just see the warehouse in the distance, nothing having changed in the past week at all. "My place."

In my peripheral vision, I try to gauge her reaction, but her expression remains solemn and peaceful. It isn't until we pull up in front of the large barn doors that I take the time to gaze unapologetically at her. She perks up, shuffling in her seat to sit upright once more.

If she notices my stare, she doesn't comment. Brinley focuses on her surroundings until she finds my eyes. She grins softly. "So... are you going to show me around?"

Sarcastically, I roll my eyes. "There isn't much to show," I mumble, playing the significance of this whole situation down tenfold.

She sends me a discreet look that I, of course, notice. My body is affixed to her, so there is no doubt I will notice every minuscule thing about her. I open my car door, rounding the car to open hers as well. When I reach her, Brinley has already stepped out, leaning on the car and her attention is focused on typing out a message to-who I presume-is Brooklynn.

I close the space separating us once she is finished. My arms fall atop her shoulders, pulling her into me, and she succumbs to the action almost immediately. I rest my head above hers, my nerves and stress from today feeling like issues from eons ago from her sheer touch.

Brinley entangles her arms around me, squeezing me ever so gently. I inhale a deep breath of her scent-something floral and powdery.

"Wanna go inside?" I utter the question.

I feel the slight movement of her head shaking yes. Upon looking down at her, I note the goosebumps prickling on her skin. With her still trapped in my arms, I tread over to the barn doors, deciding to pick her up and hold her instead.

Her body melds to mine with no restraint, her face nuzzling into the crook of my neck and her arms enclosing around me. All the tension I didn't notice was trapped inside her muscles, eased.

Remaining my firm hold on Brinley, I cross the warehouse ground until we reach the other set of barn doors opposite the entry. The grass meadows have grown in length, a shadow of uncertainty hitting me when I think of what could lurk in the depths between each blade of grass.

Of the moon's phases, I think the full moon is my favorite. Purely because I find it so fascinating to just... stare and admire it. There is a superstition that people turn into lunatics on the full moon, so that might also be why I like it.

Just like all the other times I have studied the full moon on numerous nights, it looks the same. But something about tonight, in particular, feels different. It may be I have company with someone I like a lot more than anyone else in this fucked up world. It may also be contributed to the fact my life has drastically changed in ways I couldn't imagine.

I settle down on the ledge overlooking the grassy field. Brinley loosens her grasp and slides off of my lap when I send her a glare. "Don't fucking start with that."

She rolls her eyes, a short-lived laugh falling from her mouth before she concedes and I pull her back onto my lap. A satisfied sound—that I didn't intend on making—forms in the back of my throat. Brinley keeps her arms hanging around the back of my neck and I crane my head down to her chest, focusing on the rise and fall of it.

I sigh, preparing to say something I need to get off my chest. "I visited Vaughn today. In hospital."

Sharply, Brinley inhales. "How did it go?"