The next day people tried to bully Creed again before they saw me sitting there, but I overheard something he clearly didn’t want me to.
But it was also something I couldn’t let go.
“Are you really out on parole?” I asked quietly.
“Yes,” he bit out. “So? Now you won’t eat with me? You going to mock me too?”
“No,” I whispered. “No, not at all.” I swallowed my worry and fear when he went tense.
“But? There’s clearly a fucking ‘but’ there, Aurora.”
That was true and if he was honest enough to push for the truth then I could be honest enough to give it. I let out a slow breath and remembered he was the same man that I’d been enjoying getting to know.
And I wasn’t without sin either.
“But I would be uncomfortable eating alone with you knowing that,” I said quietly.
He didn’t say anything for a full minute. “I don’t fucking deserve that. I’ve been nothing but nice to you and not done one fucking thing for—”
“I’m a survivor of abuse, Creed,” I rasped, blinking back tears. “I won’t ask what you were in prison for. That’s your business, but I’m—I have a past too. I spent hundreds of years never feeling safe. I want to feel safe now. We’re eating in public, so it’s fine, but—you asked what it would change. I would be uncomfortable being alone with you right now knowing that.”
He was quiet again, but I felt his upset slowly recede. “Yeah, you should be selfish to feel safe.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry.”
“Thank you.”
Creed didn’t say anything until we moved on to dessert. “I never hurt a woman who didn’t attack me. I’ve never thrown thefirst punch unless I knew what was going to happen and I was outnumbered.”
I nodded, understanding what he was saying. “You never went looking nor instigated violence.”
“Never.”
I nodded. “I’m glad that’s seemed to have changed.” I frowned. “Or maybe that’s shifters. Vampire men seem to…” I shrugged. What did I really know about vampire men now any more than I did about shifters? I had only met a few shifters in my life before my family tossed me out.
But at least I now understood why he was treated so poorly by others at the hospital. They didn’t like having an ex-convict working among them.
I wasn’t excusing their behavior. No, they had no idea what kind of man he was or his crime. It wasn’t for them to judge and he’d done his penance. I was upset that it seemed common knowledge butobviouslydidn’t come from Creed.
There was no chance of that when he wasn’t chatty like that. I’d had eight lunches with him and didn’t know his last name.
I had so many questions though, a few comments he’d made that didn’t add up, but I also didn’t know enough about ASH or howlifewas anymore. He wasn’t open to talking about any of it and… I didn’t want to ruin this—whatever it was. It was the only nice thing in my life.
Everything else was upsetting or full of anxiety—terrifying or me doing things so I didn’t upset Theresa or Ellie. I’d wronged them both in so many ways that I did whatever they wanted, but that wasn’t easy for me.
Life wasn’t meant to be easy after my sins. I knew that. I knew I didn’t deserve that.
But it was during lunch with Creed. He was my peace. He complimented my cooking even when the cookies looked like a blind person made them and the salads were too salty. Hisfirm statements about not being harsh on myself knocked the echoing critical ones out of my head.
It was the one good thing in my life until Mark showed up and poked at it all and then Ellie walked up into a situation. The disappointment in her eyes when she looked at me made me want to just curl up and die.
And tears burned in my eyes knowing Creed felt betrayed this was the end of our lunches.
Ellie stopped just before the door of her office and focused on Mark. “Was there something you wanted to add to the discussion or I need to know?”
He frowned. “I thought you wanted me to tell you what happened?”
I twisted my hands when Creed snorted.
Ellie ignored that. “You’re too busy for that and I’m sure the other two adults can fill me in. I’ll follow up with you if I need to, thanks.” She didn’t wait for his answer and opened the door, letting us both inside. Once the door was closed and she flipped some switch on the wall, she focused on me. “Before we get into whatever is—”
