YesterWorld (Book 2 of the Down World Series)

Original Edition: Chapter Fourteen

Thank you for reading, voting, and commenting! XO - Rebecca

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I sat at the dinner table, staring at the uneaten bowl of Cheerios I had made myself for dinner. The little oat rings had been floating in the milk for so long they had started to bloat and fall apart, like defective life savers.

"Marina?" Laura asked gently from the kitchen door. "Can I make you something else?"

I cleared my throat, pushing away the bowl. "No, I'm just not hungry. Thank you, though, Laura."

"Okay. Your dad and I are going to head up to bed."

I glanced at the clock above her head. It was ten p.m. God, I'd been sitting here for an hour. "Good night," I said, forcing a smile.

"'Night, sweetheart."

I waited a full minute after she left before getting up and dumping the soggy remains of my dinner in the sink. I was scrubbing the bowl out when my phone buzzed on the counter next to me. A text from Brady.

I'm sorry.

I put the bowl in the drying rack, wiping my hands on my jeans. I'm sorry too, I wrote back.

No it's my fault.

I sighed, not knowing what to write back. It wasn't his fault that he didn't want me to go to Boston. It was totally understandable. His ex-girlfriend and the guy who stole her from him were both there. He wanted nothing to do with the place, and I couldn't blame him.

But a gnawing worry came back to taunt me as I stared at his text. Brady had told me once that he didn't have a family—or rather, that he had a family of his own making. His cousin. His friends. And Piper.

Now that Piper was gone, was I just some sort of replacement—some way of filling that Piper-sized hole she left behind? And if it weren't for me, would he have filled that blank space with some other girl?

He had told me twice now that I reminded him of Piper. Is that why he was with me? And if so, why was I with him? Did I love him? I had always been wildly attracted to Brady, and for a while, when we were in Oregon together, I had really started falling for him hard. He was funny. He was protective of me, shielding my body with his whenever he sensed danger.

I always thought Kieren was the one looking out for me. But maybe it had been Brady all the time.

I'm outside, came a new text. Can I come in?

I walked to the front door and opened it, seeing his car in the driveway. "Brady?" I called out.

"Over here."

He was over by the kitchen entrance, but he walked around to meet me.

"Hey," I said, smiling at the sight of him. After my day from hell, seeing his open, friendly face was like taking strong medicine.

"Hey," he smiled back. He was hesitant for a moment, but then came up and opened his arms. I threw myself into them and let him hold me in the doorway for a minute. He kissed the top of my head and I squeezed him even tighter.

"Come inside," I offered.

We walked to the kitchen and he grabbed himself a soda from the fridge before sitting down. I couldn't help but smile to see him so at home here. Brady had never had much of a real home. His cousin was nice to him, but he wasn't exactly loving. And even if he had been, nothing could have taken the place of the mother who had left the family and then died when Brady was just a kid. Maybe he'd found a home here, I realized. With Laura making sure he got a warm dinner, and my dad shaking his hand when he came over. And with me.