I feared that he would argue more, and I was prepared to spend the rest of the night arguing my case, if necessary, but in the end, he just nodded to himself after a moment, and then, leaned up to kiss me again. It was a brief kiss. Just a short press of his lips that was slightly off center, so he ended up kissing me more on one side of my mouth.
Now wasn’t the time for passion. Maybe someday, since the physical line had already been crossed between us, we could indulge in more carnal pursuits. However, right now it was the time for me to hold him and simply assure him that I wasn’t going anywhere. There hadn’t been nearly enough stability in Mia’s life. I might even say there had never been any stability at all in his life. So, I understood why my promises were hard for him to believe.
That would change with time. If I kept showing up, kept proving that I was true to my word, and that my support came withoutany strings attached, then someday he would be able to believe me without a second thought.
Until then, I would remain right here holding him.
CHAPTER 28
Auggie
I hoveredmy hand in front of the door to my apartment. I’d just been about to turn the knob when I’d received a text message, and as soon as I read the words, I froze.
Roland’s partner, Tyler, had returned to his University in Maryland a few days ago, and he had promised to continue helping me with my investigation into Mia’s past. It was a lot easier now that I knew where to look, and had someone in the same area as the information I was seeking, but so far, Mia’s true identity eluded me. I had the records of every victim who had come through Camp Green Hill’s doors, and I’d still found no traces of Mia’s identity.
Based on the message Tyler had just sent me, I finally knew why.
The door opened under my hand.
“Auggie, you’re home,” Mia said as he practically threw himself into my arms. This was a development in our relationship that I was very happily getting used to. We still hadn’t gone all the way,and I figured that was probably going to take a while, but small intimacies like hugging and kissing now came easily.
Normally, after coming home from a long shift at work, I would have greeted him with an enthusiastic kiss, but this time, I cut the kiss short.
“Um, Mia, why don’t you sit down. I’ve got something to tell you.”
His brow furrowed, but he looked more confused than worried as he pulled us both over to the living room couch.
“What is it?”
“Well…” Helpless, I waved my phone where the message was still displayed, as if that would explain everything. “I think I finally figured out who you are.”
Mia froze, and his hands clenched tight around my wrist where he was still holding onto me. “Really?”
“Yeah. And I know why it’s been so damn hard to identify you.”
I looked down at my phone again, then tossed the useless thing aside to give Mia my full attention.
“I’m not sure how else to say this, but your name isn’t Mia.”
On my wrist, I felt Mia’s hands tremble. “What?”
I quickly gathered up his hands, trying to ground him as I rushed to explain. “Well, it sort of is. From what I can tell, when you were born your name was Mia. However, when your father took custody of you he changed it. I’m not sure if he never told you, or if you just don’t remember, but legally, your name isn’t Mia anymore. That’s why I was having such a hard time finding you.”
I gave him a minute to process the news, not wanting to overwhelm him with too much information at once, but the expected question came just a few moments later.
“Then… what is my name?”
“Legally, your name is Jeremiah,” I told him. “Jeremiah Bennett.”
I watched his lips move as he silently spoke the name to himself, probably waiting for some form of recognition or feeling of connection, but I could tell from the look in his eyes that there was nothing.
“It makes sense,” I said. “You said your father hated the name Mia, right? But you refused to go by anything else. Changing your name like this makes sense. Jeremiah has Mia in it, after all. It would have given him a built-in excuse to tell people that the name Mia is just an odd nickname for Jeremiah.”
After whispering the name to himself a few times, Mia eventually frowned and crossed his arms. “I hate it.”
“Yeah,” I regretfully agreed, nervously rubbing at the back of my neck. “I don’t really like the name Jeremiah either. It doesn’t suit you. Too biblical.”
Mia was clearly furious about this news, scowling up at me like I’d invented it just to upset him. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing. While I hated upsetting him, his angry pout was so cute it made me want to kiss him. However, such a reaction would probably not be appreciated right now, so I kept my hands and lips to myself and just silently appreciated the sight.