“I promise. We’ve kissed a few times.”
Plenty of times.
Not that I’m going to say that.
“I see.” She takes a sip of the juice. “Okay, I believe you. All I’m saying is, be careful. At this age hormones get crazy and you do things you don’t want to.”
I nod, feeling too uncomfortable to have this conversation.
“Now, keep eating. It’s important to have a healthy breakfast and you need meat on your bones, dear.”
Silence fills the room as we both quietly finish off the food from our plates. When I take my last bite, she advances a bowl of blueberries and raspberries in my direction.
“Here, have a couple of these. They are good for health.”
I compliant and eat a few of them even though my stomach is full.
“Can I ask what happened that made you come here tonight?”
I freeze. The blood turns so cold in my veins that it resembles ice.
Her eyes bore into me, sympathy shimmering in them.
I knew this was coming. I knew I couldn’t avoid this conversation. But it still sends me underwater, drowning me in anxiety.
I open my mouth to answer her, but no words come out.
She stares me quietly, giving me all the time in the world.
Footsteps thump in the hallway. A second later, a man appears in the doorway. He’s tall, built and dressed in a fine, expensive suit. His face is sharp and carved with granite and his eyes are a shade of light gray that resembles graphite.
One look at him and I can tell it’s Heath father.
He enters the room and the atmosphere changes. It grows thick and heavy, making it hard to breathe. The air shifts with his strong demeanor that is quite intimidating.
His eyes lock on me and narrow a little.
A bead of sweat slithers down my back as those dark eyes study me.They remind me of my dad.
Without a single thought, I get off the stool and walk around the island to put distance between us. My hands start shaking and my chest moves rapidly with fast labored breaths.
A gasp fills the room and I glance at Heath’s mother who watches me with tearful eyes.
“I need to go,” I whisper but don’t move.
“No, wait!” She quickly stands up and looks behind her at the man whose face softens the second he sees her. “This is my husband. He is completely harmless.”
She drags him to the stool and makes him sit down while I press my back against the counter.
“Hope, dear. It’s fine,” she says.
My handsdo notstop shaking.
“He is not going to hurt you. You’re safe here,” she says with conviction.
I look at him and find him still watching me. However, his gaze doesn’t seem like an arrow piercing into my skin anymore.It has lost its sharpness the second he sees his wife and the way she tries to mend this situation.
“I’m Carol and this is Xavier.”
