later when I finally decide to venture back into Miles' family home. I have cried all of the tears I have left, hoping to every higher power that my face isn't puffy, and that my eyes aren't red, giving away what I'd been doing on the porch steps.

Everyone is talking in the kitchen, and I feel relieved to hear my mother's melodic laughter. I don't want her to think Luke's outburst is her fault because it isn't.

It's mine.

I shouldn't have accepted Miles' offer to spend this day with his family when I should've been spending it at home, with mine. Luke is right. It was our first Thanksgiving without Dad, and I didn't even think about how he was feeling. We should've been at home, eating Chinese takeout like we'd done last year and the year before that.

"Hey, do you want some dessert?" I'm snapped from my reverie to see Miles standing in front of me. I blink, not even realizing that I've been stagnant by the entry of the kitchen, simply staring off into space. Miles' green eyes slide over my face, frowning slightly at what is probably clumped mascara and smudged eyeliner. He doesn't even have to ask to know that I've just finished crying, not when his analytical gaze manages to deduce that from a glance at my face.

Shaking my head, I try to put on a convincing smile. "I'm alright, thanks."

"Are you?"

His calculating expression turns softer, bouts of concern swirling in his eyes. I open my mouth to respond when my mother's face pops into view. She's smiling, her entire face alight with enthusiasm, which is a stark contrast to the sullen expression she'd had a few minutes ago.

"Where's Luke?"

"I think he went to bed." My mother's smile dims a little, an unreadable expression on her face. "I just know he said that he wanted to be alone."

She nods thoughtfully, turning to look at Miles. "Do you mind if I steal my daughter for a moment?"

He shakes his head, never breaking his focus from my face, and even when I turn around, walking with my mother up the rickety stairs, I can still feel his gaze on my back, burning a hole.

I stay silent as I follow behind her into the spare bedroom that houses all of my belongings for the weekend. Though, after the debacle of what had happened at dinner, I'm beginning to regret promising Candace that I would love to stay here. I don't want to burden the Lively family any more than we've already done. Ruining Thanksgiving for them with our family dramatics.

My mother begins slowly pacing the length of the room whilst I got comfortable on the bed, tucking my legs underneath myself as I watch her wearily. She's biting on her lower lip, her eyebrows furrowed in concentration.

"Just spit it out, Mom," I blurt. She jumps in surprise as if forgetting that I've been in the room in the first place. "You look like you're about to blow a fuse from how hard you're thinking."

"I don't know where to start," she admits, sinking onto the mattress next to me. Her hair is puffed up in that signature afro she's been wearing for all of my life, a few of the black pieces beginning to gray. She looks extremely tired. I don't even notice the bags underneath her eyes when she'd come to my apartment earlier, but now I do. They stand out against her brown complexion, darkening the areas around her eyes and aging her well beyond her forty years of life.

"You've grown up so much, Eves," she says softly, her fingers reaching out and coiling around one of my curls, the tendril bouncing off of my face as a result. "I remember when you were four, and begging me to check under your bed for the boogeyman." I laugh at that, leaning into my mother's palm. "And now you're twenty-one, getting ready to graduate college. Where has my baby gone?"

She looks teary-eyed, her bottom lip quivering as she sucks in a quick breath. "Your dad would be so proud to see the woman you've become." I bite my lip to keep my tears at bay. "What I would do to have him here with us."

"I miss him," I whisper. "I don't think I'll ever not miss him."

She nods once, taking my hand in hers. "I miss him too, honey. I miss him so much that it physically hurts some days. But I know he wouldn't want us to live in pain. He wouldn't want us to put our lives on hold just because his physical form is no longer here with us." She presses her hand against my chest, tapping her fingers a few times. "Because he'll always be in here."

I smile, running my fingers over my heart as my mom settles her hands back into her lap.

"You know, I wanted to tell you for the longest time." I grow silent as I listen, already knowing she's referring to the man she is dating. "I drafted up countless ways to break it to both you and Luke. But every time I tried to write it down, it never sounded right." She looks at me from above her lashes. "I didn't want you kids to hate me, or think I was trying to replace your father. Truth be told, I was prepared to simply be a widow for the rest of my life, something that I was okay with . . ."

"Until you met him?"

My mom nods, a ghost of a smile on her lips. "No one will ever replace the love I had with you and Luke's father. No one. And I want you to know that, okay?"

"How did you know you were ready to move on?" I ask suddenly. My mom immediately looks confused, shifting her head to the side.

"I don't know, honey," she says quietly. "I don't think anyone is ever ready to move on, but you have to. Sometimes the reward is worth the risk."

Her words wash over me, and I avert my gaze to look at my hands, feeling as if a bucket of cold water has just been doused on my head. I don't want to continue pushing Miles away just because I'm scared of getting my heart broken again. The truth of the matter is, that I know that I can fall in love again, especially with Miles. He's just so easy to love.

"I'm assuming you're asking because of that handsome young man downstairs?" She's smiling now, the wrinkles by her eyes deepening. My face grows hot as I timidly nod my head. Her laugh rings out against the walls. "Oh my, I knew it!"

Raising my brows, I'm in shock. "You knew it?" I echo suspiciously.

"Of course. The way he's been staring at you since we've come here." A look of mirth passes over her features. "The way he wanted to go after you when you went to talk to Luke. He looked absolutely worried when you left the table. His mother had to calm him down so that you would be okay."

This time I can't help the cheesy smile that pulled at my lips. He was worried about me? I'm an idiot. I know that there's an obvious attraction that Miles feels for me. At first, I just thought it was fleeting, maybe once he got me into bed, it would simmer out for him. But he's stuck around, even when things escalated with Sebastian, even when I constantly throw the word friend around. He's always just there. To talk on the phone with me until I fall asleep. To have picnics with me in the parks. Taking me to his painting class. It's always him just simply being around me. I find myself never thinking about Sebastian when I'm around Miles. I find myself laughing and feeling giddy to just see him, even if it's for a passing moment in my apartment. Or when he'd take breaks from working with Talia to come badger me in my room.

I look forward to it all.

"Oh my god," I say quietly. My mom looks at me, though with the look she's wearing, I know she already suspects what I'm going to say next. "I like him."

"It's scary, isn't it?" she asks tentatively. When I nod, she pulls me to her side, wrapping an arm around my shoulder as her hand smooths out loose pieces of my hair. "It doesn't have to be scary though, not if you trust him, not if you're willing to just take that leap."

Am I? I don't think I'll be able to answer that right now, especially not when I've finally come to the realization that I do in fact, like Miles as more than a friend. It has only been a little over a month of knowing him, but I know that I wouldn't have been able to get through the last month if he hadn't been there at all.

My mom taps my shoulder a few times, and I pull away. "I think I should go talk to Luke."

I nod. "Be careful, he's in a spiteful mood. I mean, not that I blame him."

"I didn't want him to find out the way that he did, neither of you. And for that, I'm sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Mom," I say sincerely. "Sure, I would've loved to have gotten a phone call from you and not Luke, but don't you ever apologize for being happy."

She bends down, giving me a quick peck on my forehead. "I love you, kiddo."

"I love you more."

I watch as she exits the bedroom, noticing her knock a few times on Luke's door before letting herself it, though not before I shoot her a reassuring smile. Luke is stubborn, and I'm sure he is going to give her hell before accepting her apologies.

I decide to go and seek out Miles. I know that I'm not going to tell him I like him, at least not yet. I still need a few days to come to terms with my new feelings, and my old feelings, regarding Sebastian. I need to find closure with my old relationship before I even try to start a new one.

I take the steps downstairs, pausing in the middle of the landing when I hear the sound of a guitar playing followed by a soft voice singing. Changing my course, I start walking back up the stairs, realizing the music is coming from Miles' bedroom. The door is slightly ajar, and I peek my head in to see him sitting on the carpeted floor, his fingers strumming softly on the acoustic guitar.

"A picture would last longer." Miles stops playing long enough to look up, casting me a crooked smile. I blush, letting my curls frame my face in an attempt to hide my embarrassment. I hear him let out a chuckle as I venture further into his room.

I curl up on the floor next to Miles, my body hyper-aware of his fingers brushing away a few pieces of my hair, tucking them behind my ear. His green eyes search my face as if he is potentially looking for something. I raise my eyebrows at him, gesturing to the guitar on his lap. He looks down at it sheepishly, halfheartedly strumming a few strings.

"How'd it go with your mom?"

Shrugging, I continue to watch his fingers move across the guitar. My face is still warm, and I feel my heart beating a bit faster in my chest when I think back to my conversation with my mom. Or more importantly, my admission of feelings regarding Miles.

"We talked," I answer vaguely. Miles' lips twitch in amusement and my cheeks flame up again. "It was a conversation we should've had a long time ago." He nods thoughtfully, squeezing my hand softly before moving his guitar over.

My face scrunches up in confusion as I watch him get to his feet, walking over to his dresser. He picks up a picture frame, looking at it for a moment before coming back over to me. He hands me the frame, my finger curling around the edge as I bring it closer.

The man in the picture looks eerily similar to Miles, except for green eyes, he has brown. I know, without a doubt, that the picture is of Clive. My gaze flickers over to Miles, who is already watching me intently.

"He was twenty-three when he died. In a motorcycle accident. I had just graduated from high school." Miles swallows, running his hand through his hair. "Clive was supposed to be at the ceremony, my mom had been calling him all morning . . ."

He trails off, and my expression falls at the crestfallen look in his eyes. Without even thinking, I reach forward, intertwining my fingers with his. He stares at our interlocked hands, before letting out a sigh.

"After his death, things sort of went downhill for me. I got mixed up in the wrong crowds. Started slacking behind at Columbia. I was a mess, Evie. I didn't have my older brother anymore, my parents started fighting practically every second of the day. I couldn't write music. It was like this constant black cloud was hanging over my head."

I think back to what Janice had said the last time I'd seen her, about how Miles hadn't always been as good as he is now and I wonder if this is what she had meant. Deciding to voice my thoughts, I ask tentatively, "the last time I went to your painting class, Janice told me something about you. It was a passing comment, but she mentioned how you haven't always been as good as you are now?"

Surprisingly, Miles lets out a low chuckle. "I was waiting on her to mention it." At my confused expression, he continues. "I was constantly getting arrested from the people I hung around with and the things I got into. Always by one person though, Janice's oldest son. The last arrest, the judge gave me an ultimatum. Go to juvie or do some community service. I chose the latter and ended up teaching the class. Janice immediately knew who I was from how often her son would complain about having to throw me in the back of his cruiser."

"I'm sorry about your brother, Miles," I say softly, giving him a sympathetic smile.

He runs his thumb over my wrist, tracing tiny circles over my skin. "This time of year is always rough for my family. Even though it's been four years since his death, shit still feels like it happened yesterday."

My heart clenches, thinking about the pained look on Luke's face as he cried about our father. "Does it always hurt?"

Miles looks up, probably seeing the sheer panic and affliction in my own eyes. He shakes his head, leaning in closer to me.

"Not if you don't let it." Before I can say something else, Miles does the unexpected.

He kisses me.

His hand comes up to my cheek, bringing my face closer to his until our lips meet. I'm shocked at first, my lips not moving as I register what is happening. I feel Miles pulling away, most likely to apologize for the kiss when I do something out of character.

Quickly, I yank at the collar of his shirt, pulling him back towards me. He grunts in surprise, his body relaxing as I bring our lips back together. My fingers thread through his hair, a low groan leaving his lips. In a flash of a second, Miles digs his fingers into my waist, hoisting me a little so I'm sitting on his lap, my legs spread out on either side of him. A noise of approval leaves my lips as he breaks away, his lips moving down to my neck, leaving little scatterings of small bites.

I lean my head away so he can have better access, and I feel him smirk against my skin. His fingers move underneath my shirt, the contact causing goosebumps to arise. He's intoxicating, and I can't get enough.

Pulling away, I notice the darkened effect in his eyes. We are both breathing heavily as he traces his thumb over my face, lingering on my swollen lips.

"I've been wanting to do that since I first saw you in that bar," he admits lowly.

"I'd say it was worth the wait," I respond quietly.

"Yeah." He smiles. "It was."

hope you guys enjoyed this chapter!! evie & miles finally kissed thank god. as always pls leave ur comments, i love reading them.

with everything that has been happening in the world lately, i just want to stress the importance of mental health checks and taking time away to focus on yourself. i love you all, and i hope everyone is doing well <3