GISELLE
Hurt People Hurt People
Ben was ignoring my texts.
Well, not ignoring exactly, but he wasn’t as responsive as usual. He used to message me a few times a day, but lately he’d gone down to once in the morning, once after lunch, and one at night. Which, sure, maybe still seemed like a lot to some people, but it really wasn’t—especially since these texts were pretty monosyllabic.
And it was making me feel like shit.
I’d never thought Ben was the type to hit it and quit it, but I must have been looking at him through rose-colored glasses, because I definitely felt like I was experiencing a wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am.
Still… it was just so hard for me to believe.
Had I pushed him too far, too fast? I thought I had been so thorough in checking in that he was ready, that he’d wanted it like I had. I’d even blatantly asked “green”, since we hadn’t really talked about safe words or anything like that. I’d really madethe effort to make sure we were on the same page in every way possible.
So, it had to be that a shapeshifter with a powerful wolf form, incredible strength, and a healing ability who could live more than a hundred years didn’t want to be with someone so fragile and sick. I’d been good for a night, but obviously he’d quickly realized I was too disabled, toopathetic.I’d known that someone like him could never truly be interested in me.
Calm down. You know better than to jump to conclusions.
It was difficult not to do that when he wouldn’t text me. I needed to set up a time for us to talk, but every time I did, he made excuses.
As if to prove it to myself, I looked at our message chain, trying to find some clue that I was wrong and everything would be okay.
Giselle:Hey, do you think we could catch a movie this weekend? Benny has been talking a lot about some spy flick? XOXO
Ben:This weekend won’t work.
Giselle:Gotcha! When do you think you’ll have a free moment to get together?
Ben:I’ll have to check my schedule.
He never got back to me until this morning, with his customary text.
Ben:Good morning. Stay safe, stay hydrated, and don’t forget to dropkick a kid if you need to.
It had always mademe chuckle, but today I’d just stared at the text while I brushed my teeth and flossed. I had tried to craftthe perfect response in my head, but my mind was blank with anxiety, so I’d gone with something simple.
Giselle:Good morning to you, too! What are you up to today?
He never answered.
And it had been like that for a full week since we’d slept together.
God, had I been a fool? The whole scene was set up like he’d just been using me for sex, but thatreallymade no sense.
First off, because the icing out hadn’t been immediate. We’d woken up together, showered together, had breakfast together, and even watched a movie until Natalie dropped off the kids.
And it wasn’t like he’d rushed me home then, either. No, the kids were hungry, so we’d all gone out to eat. We’d had a great time before he took me home. My family had all given meveryknowing looks that I pointedly ignored. After all, it couldn’t be the walk of shame if I had none.
Even the next day was fine. He’d texted me the normal morning text, asked what my lesson plans were for the week, told me about a gig he’d picked up before the jamboree but was thinking of canceling it because he didn’t need the distraction to help him settle down.
My pride had glowed at that.
He’d been sweet the rest of the day too, and we’d talked on the phone for ten minutes before I went to bed.
But the next day, as the month turned over and we were that much closer to the end of the school year, I could feel something was off. Nothing like how it was now, but he took longer to reply to my texts, and he was too tired to talk before bed.
The day after that, the freeze began.
