“I can’t leave you.”
My voice is thick with emotion, but Mom looks at me with desperation in her eyes.
“You can. And you will. You know I’ve got that money for your education stashed away, right? From Nanny Joan?”
I can’t see through my tears, and I let out a sob of frustration as she strokes my arms, still watching my father over my shoulder.
“It’s time, Crane. You need to move on; this isn’t healthy for you. Don’t say what about me, because I’m telling you now, I’m staying here.”
“Why are you so stubborn?” I snap, wondering if she realises how sad her life is.
Mom's face softens into a smile, and I know that something’s changing between us.
The realisation that she will never leave him, no matter what he does to her, fills me with an emptiness that’s all-encompassing.
“One day,” I whisper, gripping her hands with mine as she swallows, tears coursing down her cheeks. “I’m going to come back, and I’m going to make you leave. I’m going to save you, Mom.”
Mom closes her eyes, nodding as she does.
She’s too emotional to say anything, but I know she heard me.
“I promise you that. I will save you.”
ELEVEN
KAI
After spending most of the day in bed, I throw myself in the shower at a little after four.
My head throbs, not as bad as it did earlier, but still, the remnants of a hangover that wasn’t caused by alcohol alone.
No.
It’s the lack of sleep that killed me off; sitting up talking to your ex all night long in between hot, fervent kisses, isn’t recommended.
Especially when I’m still so fucking under her spell.
I should’ve let Crane talk me out of it, but the minute her fingertips touched mine, I was a goner.
Lorena is the only girl to have this effect on me, one I’m hoping I can either walk away from, or finally be the guy she wants.
Committing to her, andonlyher.
I’m not stupid, I know that’s what she wants, but at twenty, I’m not about to settle down.
Padding back into my room I catch sight of my reflection, knowing that the guy who stares back at me would settle with Lorena in a heartbeat.
But there’s another part of me that can’t.
What if I meet another girl, and she knocks me off my feet the way Lorena did?
Surely I’ve not metThe Oneduring my first week of college.
I can still remember the way my heart skipped when I saw her, the air leaving my lungs like I’d been winded.
The attraction was instant, and we’d slept with each other the same night we’d met.
Don’t think about the sex.
