I’m tired of people who are controlling.
“You needed a pen, so I gave you a pen. It’s not a big deal. I know you have this aching need to be in charge of every single thing in your life, but that’s impossible. Having complete control over a situation, person, or idea is not attainable. It’s suffocating. You don’t have to treat everything like it’s life or death, and I can promise you that forgetting a pen is not that important. You can’t control me.”
I slam my laptop screen shut and look up, but it’s not the eyes of the man I want to say those words to staring back at me.
Nope. It’s not my father I yelled at in a quiet coffee shop.
Instead, caramel-like eyes glisten. Angry tears threaten to spill over and slide down those rounded cheeks. The realization splits straight through my anger.
“Controlyou? I’m not trying to control you. I stupidly asked you for help, so it’s my fault for thinking you’d care. And not having my insulin penislife or death.” Looping her backpack over her shoulders, her face turns into an unreadable slate of stone. “It’s nice to know thingsreally don’t change. Thanks for proving me right, Gray. Once an asshole, always an asshole.”
Without another glance, she races out the door. I’m frozen to my spot, turning in time to watch her neon-green shoes disappear around the corner. Then everything falls into place.
Well, more like crashes and burns into place because I misheard her. She didn’t say pen.
Mallory saidinsulinpen.
“What the hell are you waiting for?”
Libby’s cold stare is harsh enough to give everyone in the cafe hypothermia. In her hands is a hot chocolate with extra whipped cream, a drink that was supposed to be enjoyed by the person I sent running out the door.
I so badly want to believe that I’m asleep and in the middle of a nightmare, but I’m wide awake and deeply regretful.
“I…” I stare out the window. “I have to go.”
“Yeah, you do. Idiot. Go find her and un-fuck this. Quickly.”
The wind whips against me as I round the building like Mallory did, but I find nothing. No neon sneakers. No bouncing hair. No Mallory.
People curse as I sprint down the sidewalk to my truck, bumping their shoulders roughly. She is running all the way home because Ididn’t think before I spoke and messed everything up.
Inside the truck, I dial Cade’s number, and he answers on the first ring. “Hey! What’s up, Kent?”
“Mallory…” The truck splutters to life, making me wait for my car to connect to Bluetooth. “I messed up, Cade. She left her insulin pen at home, and I wasn’t paying attention. She’s running. Last I saw, she turned on Chattanooga Street about five minutes ago.”
I hear a plate shatter against the ground, and Cade hisses into the speaker. “Ouch! Okay. Hold on. Shay’s here, so I’ll let her know. Where are you?”
I pull onto Chattanooga Street, speeding down the route to her house. My eyes never leave the sidewalk, willing her to appear. “I’m headed there right now.”
Cade covers the microphone, muffling his words to Shay, but her response is loud and clear. The front door slams, and I count eleven seconds before he comes back to the phone.
My shoulders slump as his sigh fills the truck’s interior. “Kent. What the hell happened? How did you—”
“I’m an idiot. I’m sorry.”
Brake lights blare crimson as the car in front of me screeches to a stop. I’m barely able to avoid slamming into its bumper, and a string of expletives leave my lips as I pull into a parking spot in front of a boutique. I kill the engine and throw open my door.
“Made it?” Cade asks, sounding hopeful.
“Traffic. Running. Talk soon.”
It takes five minutes to make it to the red house on the corner. Every part of me aches when I make it to the front door, and my fist beats hard enough on the door to splinter it.
Fear scorches my throat as I scream, “Eddie? Ed! Answer the door!”
Silence.
I move to a window and peer through a gap in the kitchen curtains, pressing my face to the glass. Nothing is amiss other than the fridge door hanging open. I go back to the front door, continuing to knock as a car pulls into the driveway, followed by frustrated footsteps behind me. Shay shoves past me and unlocks the door, pushing it open.
