He stares at me, saying nothing, before he turns away and puts the car into gear. “Sleep in the room from now on. No more disappearing. And no dating. I meant what I said about that.”
“Heard you the first time you mentioned it.”
I press my palms against my eyes. Three nights in the library have left me running on fumes. And everything aches.
But I can't handle sleeping in the same room as Connor.
Or anyone else.
It's why I play like shit during away games. Hotel rooms mean roommates, and being that vulnerable with someone else there . . . I just can't.
Connor has enough ammunition on me. He doesn't need to know I'm so fucked up I can't sleep with another person in the room.
The rest of the drive back to campus is silent. He hasn't blinked in at least a minute, and his breathing is too measured, too careful.
I rest my head against the passenger door window and sigh. Can’t get the image of his father striking him out of my head. Or how Connor just took it like it was normal.
But it’s not.
In the same way it’s not normal that I panic when someone touches me, even though I crave it. Or how I don’t feel safe in my own skin.
And while my current situation is yet another step further away from normalcy, maybe it’s time I become the person who stands up instead of standing by. “We stay married until you're free from your father.”
“What?”
I grip the door handle to steady myself, my pulse pounding in my ears. “We stay married until you don't need this anymore. After, I want my life back. And I want you to stop threatening me. Those are my terms if you want this to work.”
“Why?”
“Because of the shit I saw today. Because I don’t want to be the reason someone else gets dragged into this nightmare. Unless . . . you’d . . . prefer Ben.”
He pulls into a parking spot and kills the engine but doesn't move to get out. He just sits there for a moment, hands still on the wheel. “Don’t make me regret this.”
I quirk a brow. “Regret what?”
“Agreeing to your terms.”
Chapter 8
Connor
I stop outside Eli and Merci’s dorm, the split in my lip pulsing with every heartbeat. Should’ve iced it, but I needed to get out of that room before I put Henneman through the wall. He's been staring at it all day. That soft look. All careful and worried.
Fuck that.
The goddamn asshole also kept me awake all night with his restless shifting. Every time I'd drift, another flip. Another groan. His too-big body making too much fucking noise.
And what was with that self-pitying tone when he suggested I might prefer Ben?
No, I don’tpreferhim. MarryinganyCallahan would keep me locked in the cage I’m trying to escape.
After taking a deep breath, I knock twice.
Viktor flings open the door, Red Bull in hand, hip cocked. “Our fearless captain has decided to grace us with his presence . . . Holy fuck, what happenedto your face?” He leans in uncomfortably close. “Did Henneman actually grow a pair and punch you? About time. I'm so proud of him.”
“Wasn't him.”
“Wait. Your parents did that?”
