“Yes. But there’s something about him I can’t pinpoint. I just… I don’t know. For Delaney’s sake, I hope we’re wrong.”
“We probably are. She’s the soft one of our group, so we need to protect her.”
I know he’s right, but will we ever think anyone is good enough for her? Probably not.
“How is your mother?” Sebastian asks after we sit in silence for a few moments.
“Worse and worse each day,” I tell him, trying not to think about how, sooner rather than later, she will no longer have any good days at all.
“I love you, Cora.” He grips my hand as we get closer to my apartment.
“Do I answer if he calls?” I ask as the car comes to a stop.
“You think he’ll call?”
“I know he will,” I say with a smile. Arlo is persistent, and I like that about him.
“Well, no. You make him wait. He walked out after he asked you to come back to his house.” He shakes his head.
“Okay, yes, you’re right. I already knew that.”
“I’m always right.” He smiles brightly. “Also, be careful. I’ve never quite seen you like this with any other man.”
“Like what?” I open the door and look over my shoulder at him when he doesn’t answer right away.
“So up and down. He really has his claws dug deep into you.”
“It’s beads, actually,” I say, getting out of the car and closing the door behind me.
“If you scream, I’ll punish you.”
His hand covers my mouth.
It’s Arlo.
My breath comes in rapid bursts, terror flooding every inch of me as he pulls his hand away and yanks the blanket off my body.
“Did you break into my apartment?” I yell, grabbing a pillow and throwing it at him.
“Yes, I did,” he says with pride. “You didn’t even wake up when I smashed into your table.”
“You smashed my table. What else did you break?” I throw another pillow at him. He catches it, then puts it to his nose and sniffs. Fucking weirdo. He drops the pillow onto the bottom of my bed, and then I watch in shock as he lifts the bottom of his shirt and pulls it over his head. When I look outside, the sun is starting to rise.
“I’m calling the police,” I tell him and reach for my phone.
“I won’t fuck you, just touch. I’m tired anyway.” My hand pauses on my phone, adrenaline racing through me from him breaking and entering my house. I try to position myself so he can’t see that, but at the same time, it’s turning me on, making my nipples rub against my shirt.
“Why are you here?” I question as he kicks off his shoes and then starts to undo his pants.
“You said you’d come home with me, but I had to do something with Soren, and I knew that would fuck my chance, so I’ve come back to take it.”
“If you think I’m going to let you fuck me after you missed your opportunity, you’re crazy.”
“Yeah, I am a little crazy.” He drops his pants and stands at the end of the bed, naked, for a moment before climbing onto the mattress and lying down next to me.
I reach for the blanket and pull it back onto the bed. “You need to leave,” I tell him.
“No. Let’s sleep. I’ll make it up to you in the morning.” He reaches for me, but I brush his hand away.
