I want to ask her if she’s okay, but I already know the answer to that question. “Talk to me.”
She sniffles, wiping beneath her makeup-streaked eyes. “About what?”
I flash a playful glare at her. “You know what. About what happened back at Kos’s. About how one second, you’re kissing me, and the next, your walls are sky high again. I want to talk about it all.”
She laugh-exhales, humorless and cold.
I want to be patient for her—I do—but I’m at the end of my rope. Not being able to be with her, having this invisible wall between us, is driving me insane.
Rising to my feet, I crutch a hesitant step toward her, and her eyes whip up to mine, wide and nervous.
She wets her lips and doesn’t say a word as I take another step, only a few feet left between us.
“Are you angry that I hurt him?” I ask, trying to gauge where her emotion is coming from.
Her face twists with confusion. “What? No.God, I’d hit him with my car if I could get away with it.”
A small smirk lifts my lips. “I could arrange that if you want.”
Her shoulders soften ever so slightly. “I’m not mad at you for anything.”
I take another step toward her. “Then what is it? What is keeping you an arm’s length away?”
Those vibrant blue eyes drop to my chest as I take another step, only a foot between us.
“I-I …” She trails off.
Balancing with my crutches tucked under my armpits, I reach up and gently run my finger up her neck, gently guiding her chin up, forcing her to look up at me. Finally, she doesn’t shy away and holds my stare.
So much emotion swirls in her haunted gaze. My eyes bounce back and forth between them as I try to dive inside.
“Talk to me, baby. You can tell me anything,” I murmur, and wetness coats her stare.
Her lips part, but again, not a sound escapes.
Sliding my fingers along her jaw and into her hair, I hold her gently, leaning closer to her face. “You are all I’ve ever wanted and all I’ll ever need. I’m sure you’ve figured that out by now.”
Her nostrils spasm, her bottom lip quivering as she slowly shakes her head, a tear rolling down her cheek. “You shouldn’t.”
“What? Why?” I scoff.
“You deserve better, Jensen.” Her voice cracks. “Trust me.”
My brows pinch together, and a pulse of anger thrums through me that she could even say that about herself. “Did you murder someone? They probably deserved it. Did you steal something? Oh well. There’s literally nothing you could say that would make me feel differently about you, Lainey. I’ve been yours since I was fifteen years old. Nothing is going to change that.”
I’m closer to her, our lips mere inches away from each other as waves of passion roll off of me.
Tears continue to stream down her cheeks as war wages in her eyes, and I just need her to realize she’s not in this battle alone. I’m right here.
“Lainey, I lov?—”
She covers my lips with her fingers, cutting me off as her breathing quickens unhealthily.
“Stop. You don’t mean that.”
I scoff, planting my hand on the door beside her head. “You haveno ideawhat you mean to me. Trust me, I mean it, and I’ve felt it for years.”
A sob breaks free from her, and her face twists as she looks away from me. “Don’t say that, Jensen. If you knew the truth about me, about what happened to me, you wouldn’t feel the same way. Cole proved that.”
