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Jude was quiet for so long that I was sure he wasn't going to answer, but then he finally said, "My case worker, the one I was assigned to after I got arrested, found ht up in school The tutor’s name was Patricia Archer”

“Archer?” I asked in surprise

Jude actually chuckled and then glanced over his shoulder at et too excited My life may see revelations likean evil tho I was separated fro and queen of soive us up to keep us safe"

I laughed and said, "I think I saw that exact storyline on TV the other day" When I noticed Jude atching "

"Sure you were," Jude said with a s his side until I found a ticklish spot I tortured hi, "Uncle, uncle!"

I took s in the form of a kiss which quickly spiraled out of control Thankfully, I came to my senses before it crossed the line of no return

Jude and I were panting heavily but soed to ask, "So either it was one hell of a coincidence that your tutor had the same last name as you or…" I let my words fall off but when Jude didn’t supply a response, I did it for hi to you"

"She never let ive up on myself Never," Jude said almost defiantly His eyes shifted away from mine and I instantly knehy For whatever reason, he still felt like he needed to have that little bit of space between us, that little bit of distance that the lack of eye contact could offer Since I was , I put us back into our original position with his back tucked up against my front

“I was years behind the other kids e All my teachers had found it easier just to let ht Patricia would be the sa to tell her that I'd accepted ers or whatever, but all that did was piss her off And Patricia Archer wasn't someone you wanted to piss off," Jude murmured

"Good," I said softly, which earned lance from him as he looked over his shoulder at me I pinned his eyes and said, "About time you had someone on your side"

Jude held aze for a moment and then a slow, soft smile spread across his beautiful mouth He turned back on his side and said, "She was that and so much more" He paused for a few seconds, presumably lost in his own memories, before he seemed to return to the present

"She had worked with kids like me before so she had a lot of tips for how to deal with the dyslexia, and no ued about it, she pro that wouldn't stand in the way of any job I wanted I didn't believe her,” Jude said "So, of course, she had to prove it to me"

“Did she?”

Jude didn’t respond for a long time When he did, it tore at my heart in the most painful way Because while he nodded his head, I didn’t miss the soft sniffle that followed