Marcus – 1
Cora – 0
My eyes flickered before they opened just enough to see blurry spots of an exit sign glowing above my head. I strained my eyes as I straightened my legs, every part of my body aching and screaming at me to stop. But I couldn’t. I needed to get out of here. Pushing through the pain in my chest, I leaned against the bar and fell out into the night.
The metal clang echoed behind me as I hit the pavement, like I’d been holding myself together with a string and now it’d finally snapped. My knees folded as pain bloomed beneath them, my trousers bunched, and my palms scraped concrete. I didn’t even care. Not about the blood, not about the cold, not about the way someone walking past glanced at me and then kept on going.
My fingers shook as I dug for my phone. It slipped once, twice, before I finally got a grip and hit the contact I swore I wouldn’t need tonight.
It only rang once.
“Where are you?” His voice was sharp. Alert.
Like he was waiting for this moment.
I tried my best to disguise my sniffle, but what was the point? “Back exit. East side of the building. I—”
“Don't move.”
The line went dead, and I barely had time to blink, or get my breathing back to a normal rate before I heard the slam of a doorand heavy boots on pavement. A shadow rounded the corner, and then he was there. Marcus. Tall and broad and furious in the kind of way that made the air feel on fire. His eyes landed on me, and the rage dropped so fast it nearly knocked me over.
“Cora.” He was crouching before I could say anything, hands hovering like he didn’t know where to touch first.
I let out a choked sob, and suddenly his thumbs were skimming my cheeks, wiping away my tears and scooping me up, strong arms curling around me like it was nothing. My face buried into his chest on instinct, into the familiar scent of cedar and something softer. Like clean linen. Or daisies.
“I shouldn’t’ve called,” I whispered. “I’m sorry. I just—I didn’t know who else—”
“Don’t,” he snapped, but not at me. It was never at me. “You call me. Always. You hear me?”
I nodded into him, the heat of my tears soaking through his shirt.
He didn’t set me down, just moved with purpose, crossing the pavement like the whole world wasn’t watching. The car door swung open before he even reached it, and he settled down gently, like he knew how breakable I was right now.
The heat of the car embraced me, making me settle enough for the tears stop. But the second he shut the door and the world outside went quiet, I fell apart all over again.
Marcus slid in next to me. He didn’t start the car. He just sat there. One hand gripped the steering wheel like it was the only thing tethering him, but his other hand found mine.
“Tell me what happened,” he said, low and deadly calm.
I shook my head, the backs of my hands swiping at my face. “Later.
Even though I turned my head to face the window, I still felt him looking at me. It wasn't like when I knew I was being watched by whoever was texting me. It was lovely, in a way. And if I pushed away my pride for just a second, I could sit in the comfort of knowing I had a safety net. Ready. Waiting for me.
Without another thought, Marcus let out a breath. “Okay. Later.”
We didn’t talk. Didn’t look at each other. But he did hold my hand.
All the way home.
chapter sixteen
i think i like my shadow
By the time we got back to the townhouse, my eyes stung, and my throat ached like I’d not stopped screaming. I tried not to show it, tried to keep my mind off it and fake something close to composure, but Marcus wasn’t buying any of it.
I didn’t think he’d ever believe me if I lied to him anyway. He had this maddening way of looking at me, like he’d already mapped out every crack in my armour, like he knew me better than I wanted anyone to.
The low light in the hallway embraced me with that familiarity I was craving. But it was quiet. So quiet and so not the home I was used to. But part of me was grateful that everyone was asleep. The last thing they needed was me bursting through the doors in tears.
