Lewis stares at me in the mirror again. “It isn’t safe for you to live on your own. Not after what happened.” Gen nudges him in the side and his lips clamp together.
“Mira.” Gen twists around from the front seat. “Lewis won’t be able to sleep if he doesn’t know you’re okay. You know how he is. He’ll show up at your place every hour to check in. He’ll call until your phone explodes.”
Lewis is protective. He’s always been that way. I love that about him, but I know what Gen is getting at. Lewis deserves a life, which he can’t have if he’s worried about me and putting everything aside to make sure I’m okay. It will be safer at Cali’s than alone. At least for tonight. Those men abandoned me in the woods. I’m pretty sure they don’t know where I am right now, but I won’t risk them discovering it. I’ll figure something else out tomorrow, but for tonight, no one knows I’m at Cali’s, including my mom. And I just got done telling myself to be careful.
“So what exactly did Cali say?” I ask hesitantly. “She really doesn’t mind me staying there?”
Gen snorts. “No. She’s happy to have an excuse to live with Jaeger in his swank house on the lake. Believe me, it’s no hardship for her.”
“Okay, I appreciate it. I’ll stay at Cali’s for the night.”
Gen smiles at Lewis and he grins at her, the moonlight providing just enough illumination to catch the warmth in his adoring gaze.
I look away.
I felt terrified, then numb, after the men beat me. Not even the pain of my injuries rattled my nerves. But this—this loving display of my best friend with the woman he wants enough that he’s willing to build walls between us—it’s too much. I know it’s not quite like that. My therapist says my relationship with Lewis hasn’t been healthy and that we need boundaries, but it feels like I’m alone.
I hate alone.
I have bad memories of alone.
Lewis pulls into the driveway of Cali’s cabin. Jaeger walks out just as we exit the Jeep. It’s late and dark, but the porch provides enough light to show Jaeger lifting luggage into the back of his truck. Cali walks out and smiles when she sees us.
I trusted what Gen said about it being okay for me to stay here, but it’s good to see Cali’s happy expression.
“We’re all set,” Cali says cheerily. “I’ve moved my clothes out of the bedroom, Mira, and I left the essentials in the bathroom.”
That sounds like a lot of effort for one night. I hate that she went to the trouble.
Tyler steps outside, a duffel bag slung over his shoulder. My face heats and the punch of emotion I get around him starts coursing through me.
Tyler’s eyes narrow on the suitcase in the back of Jaeger’s truck. “I thought we talked about this,” he says to Cali in a low tone. “I’m not staying here. You’ll have to keep an eye on her.”
Tyler’s living with Cali and Gen?
Well, that’s not gonna work.
“No one needs to stay with me,” I interrupt.
No way will I become a bigger charity case than I already am. I don’t need to be watched over. I just need a place to crash until I figure out a new plan. It made sense to stay at Cali’s for the night, but not with Tyler.
Tyler frowns. “You can’t stay by yourself, Mira.”
I understand he found me in the woods and felt some obligation to help, but why the concern now? He made it clear he doesn’t like me or want to be around me.
“Of course I can. No one will know I’m here. I’ll be fine. It’s just for one night.”
“Mira,” Cali says, “you can stay at my cabin indefinitely. Tyler will look out for you.” She shoots a glare at her brother.
Tyler shifts his shoulder and plucks the front of his T-shirt.
God—that tic. He used to do it when he was nervous, or agitated, I’m not exactly sure which.
I used to try and provoke Tyler into making his tic when we studied together. I’d accidentally brush my long hair over his shoulder while leaning down to look at an equation, or graze his outer thigh with my arm when I bent to grab a pencil from my backpack.
The corner of my mouth twitches. There was always something about ruffling Tyler’s easygoing exterior that made my heart race. Maybe that’s why I pressed my mouth to his neck after he lifted me in the woods. Despite everything, that spark is still there, and I’m still addicted to it. Only Tyler’s edgier these days. It doesn’t take much to annoy him, and not in the fun, good ways. Living together, even for a short while, would be an utter disaster.
Tyler doesn’t project the sweet, boy-next-door attitude he did years ago when he tutored me. I’m not sure what caused the change, but I always knew he had depths he never showed. The tic used to hint at the real Tyler. He was so in control around everyone else, he rarely showed the heated, provoke-able part of himself. But I glimpsed it when we studied, and especially the night we slept together.
