Fold

“It was the possibility of darkness that made the day seem so bright.” ―Stephen King

“Go away,” I tell the imbecile knocking on my door from under my covers.

My shift at the coffee house just ended and since Breslin's ru

Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock.

Evidently someone with a death wish has deemed that impossible.

I get out of bed and stumble to the door, ready to tell Becca off for not giving me the space I asked her for.

The words I was ready to dish out fade when I shove my sleep mask up and see Landon standing there.

Judging by his appearance, and the fact that he smells like he's been bathing in nothing but alcohol for a month straight, I'd say he had quite the time being a rock star in England.

As I continue glaring at him through my squinted vision, I vaguely recall Breslin mentioning his tour wouldn't be over until later this week.

So why is he here now?

On second thought, I don't care. I'm far more a

“You know, there are these nifty things called phones. You press a few buttons and it allows you to speak to someone without having to wake a poor i

His face falls and I feel like a bitch for snapping at him. Landon's a sweetheart, and from the looks of it, he's already having a bad day.

I motion for him to come in. “She's not back yet.”

He takes a hesitant step inside. “I left my cell phone on the plane.”

I grab my phone off the charger and hand it to him. It died when I got to work, but it should have enough juice to make a quick call.

“Knock yourself out.”

He stares at it cautiously, like I just handed him a stash of stolen drugs from the cartel instead of a communication device.

Fuck a duck. I can kiss that nap goodbye.

“Ugh.” I stomp around the room, gathering my things. “Okay, let's go.”

He lifts a dark brow in question. “Go where?”

I throw a sweatshirt over my head. “The cafeteria.” I reach for my jacket and knapsack next. “Breslin's still not home and you obviously need someone to lay your shit on before you talk to her. Plus, I'm grumpy when I'm hungry, so you're buying me lunch.”

“I'm fine.”

When I give him a look, he says, “Okay, I'm not fine. I'm jealous and I don't know how to make it go away.”

I point to the door because I hate giving advice on an empty stomach. Even though the solution to this giant cluster fuck is as clear as day.

“You're not jealous, Landon. That would imply you're envious of what someone else has. But you already have what Asher has.” I pause, realizing I'm leaving out the other one. “And what Breslin has.”

We start walking down the hallway. “What you are, my friend, is threatened.”

He thinks about this for a moment before he says, “Fair enough. I keep trying to get over it, but whenever I picture them together without me I'm—”

Seriously contemplating washing your brain out with acid just to get the image of them together out of your head forever?

Wait, this isn't about me.

“Hurt?” I offer.

He shakes his head. “Afraid. They have a co

“Then why are you? Trying to compete with it, that is.”

Why am I? Despite Becca swearing they're over, Preston and Becca are still having a baby together. There's no way I can ever contend with that kind of bond.

He frowns. “Because I love them and I don't want to lose them.”

I hear you loud and clear, brother.

Becca's not just under my epidermis, she's under all the layers of my heart. And she's festering like a bad case of mold.

I focus back on Landon and his issues. “Look, I don't know shit about being in a polyamorous relationship, and Lord knows the thought of one penis, let alone two, seriously skeeves me out, but I have fallen in love more than once in my life.”

Forty-nine times to be exact.

“Okay,” he drawls, sounding puzzled.

I stop mid-stride and look at him because I need him to understand where I'm going with this. I might not be able to fix my broken heart, but I know without a doubt that Breslin, and even Asher—despite being a major douche canoe at times—both love him deeply and will stop at nothing to fix his. That alone tells me their relationship—however unconventional it may be to outsiders—is worth salvaging.

“Did you fall in love with Breslin for the same reasons that you fell in love with Asher?”

He runs a hand over his jaw. “No. Different reasons entirely. Same feeling, but the two aren't mutually exclusive because they aren't the same person. I'm attracted to and value different aspects of them individually.”

He hikes his guitar case up his shoulder. “Breslin because she's feisty and stubborn, and yet underneath that hard exterior she's sensitive and warm.” He taps his chest. “We run on the same wavelength and I can be myself around her, no pretenses. She gets me and accepts me for who I am. And even when she frustrates me, I'm somehow at peace when I'm with her.”

I take a seat on a bench in the courtyard because I have a feeling this might take a while. “And Asher?”

“Asher is a wild card. On the surface, he's unpredictable, reckless, and self-centered. And yet, there's a genuine depth to him once he lets you in.” He rocks back on his heels. “He challenges me and even though we're opposites, we somehow fit when we're together. He's my best friend and rival all in one. We're turbulent and complicated, but that's part of the draw.”

I study his face, wondering what the problem is. “I don't understand why you're threatened by what they have when it sounds like you have something pretty amazing with them too.”

I hold up a finger because I'm not done yet. Sometimes outsiders can objectively see things about people's relationships that the people in them can't because they're so clouded by their feelings.

And a sensitive and caring guy like my buddy Landon has a lot of feelings. Which means he's extra cloudy.

“Their co

I stand because talking about emotions is making me hungrier by the second. “I get that you're insecure and afraid that they're going to run off into the sunset without you, but look at the big picture here. If they didn't want you or love you, they would have dumped you to be with one another. You give them something that the other can't. And before you get upset, that doesn't mean you're lacking, it simply means that you're important, Landon. You matter to them. For the same reasons they matter to you.” I pat his shoulder. “You're not spare parts. Quite the opposite actually, you're the part that makes them complete. And I bet if you communicated and told them your concerns, they would reassure you of that in a way that I can't.”

He smiles and I see some of the tension he was carrying vanish.

He gestures to the dining hall. “Come on, Kit. You've earned that lunch. I'll buy you two of anything you want.”

If the thought of kissing a guy wouldn't ruin my appetite, and he wasn't dating my best friend, I'd totally lay one on him right now.