“Maybe not today.”I pray that time really does heal all wounds because I am torn open and bleeding.
“Stop it!”He goes on his knees beside me, and I’m shocked to realize tendrils of black are overtaking the gold of his eyes.“Stop telling me how I’ll feel.I don’t need some wolf or a girl who grew up here.I needyou.”
I want to take back everything I just said.Tell him that I need him too.
Then, a vision of the empty cabin flashes through my mind.The rooms Minnie spent her final years in, with no company but that lonely stereo.Suddenly, I can see into forever.
My future, if I stay here, is just me, slowly collapsing into myself.
My brothers are overbearing, but they also keep me sane.They’re who I need.Without their unswerving love, I’ll fade away.
And Warner deserves more than a drowning ghost.
I stand up from the picnic table, trying not to wobble.He moves with me, hands going to my waist.I don’t know if he’s steadying me or restraining me.
“Don’t go.Stay here.Choose me.”Rough growls color his pleading.
I shake my head.“I can’t.I never planned to stay.”
“Plans can change.”
“Just because they can doesn’t mean they should.”
Lunch is over.This was supposed to be a casual date.Me spending time with the guy I like.
So naive.I knew letting myself be around Warner would cause problems.He’s too lovable for me not to have fallen for him.
And I have.Fallen, that is.
My heart will break.I can already feel the cracks splintering through me.
I have to trust that with the support of my family, I’ll survive.Because I will have them.In Denver, I’ll always have them.Not like here.
Stepping over the bench with a messed-up ankle makes a smooth exit difficult.My toe catches on the wood, and I stumble.
Warner catches me, of course.
More cracks spiderweb across the surface of my heart as I soak in the warmth of his hold.
This is the part in the movies where the couple has a final kiss.A farewell.But if I let myself taste him, I’ll lose my nerve.
I’ll stay.
And then I’ll disappear.
So, I press my palms flat against his chest, applying enough pressure to make my intentions clear.He listens to the silent request, falling back a step, hands hovering, palms up, waiting for me to return to his embrace.
“Thank you for caring for me,” I say, turning to my truck.
“I don’t justcarefor you, Zoey.”
Coward that I am, I keep my eyes forward, wishing I could run.But then my ankle would give out, and Warner would come after me, and I might do something horrifying, like cry in his arms and beg for forgiveness and promise that I’ll stay.
So, I walk away at a normal pace.
But I don’t look back.
48
