Kayden
I felt Rhys's arms tighten around me, pulling me into the solid warmth of his chest the moment the last of the words left my lips.
I broke then, burying my face in his chest and crying. I lifted my hands and wrapped them firmly around his waist. I cried for the boy named Derek who had never been held like this, and for the man named Kayden who was terrified that his past would finally burn his present to the ground.
"I hid it for so long," I choked out, my voice muffled against his shirt. "I buried every bit of it. I thought if I never said the name Derek again, he would stay dead."
I pulled back just enough to look at him, my eyes burning with tears. "After that night… after my father was taken… Leo's mother didn't even hesitate. She took me in. She didn't see a broken kid or a liability; she just saw a son."
