I’m not exactly being Mr. Good Example, but I never claimed to be. I just know what I want, and having Roland in the middle of everything isn’t that.
After a flicker of quiet, the phone buzzes again.
“Jesus Christ,” I mumble, scrubbing my opposite hand over my mouth. “I swear, if he doesn’t stop calling…”
“Just give me the phone,” Kat says, gaze narrowing while she watches me pace. “Let me at least tell him I’m okay.”
“No,” I say before I can stop myself.
This visibly annoys her further while she unravels herself on the couch, taking a more defensive position. “If you don’t want anyone coming for me, then I need to let Roland know I’m fine.”
“That’s the problem,” I grit out, growing more impatient the longer the phone buzzes. “He shouldn’t need to know you’re okay because you are. Because you’re with me.”
She scoffs. “Do you really think he’ll just accept that I’ve vanished into thin air without a single word? Not to mention, he has no idea where I am, or that I’m with you of all people.”
I know she has a point, and her logic is more sound than I want to admit, but even having her reassure him has my fist balled up at my side.
“Maybe if he wasn’t acting like such a needy little shit—”
“Sergey,” Kat says, voice cutting straight through my irritation with that firm inflection.
Turning again, I find her standing now, expression turning more furious than before.
“If you want to play pretend as my protector, then protect me from the worry you’re causing,” she propositions, tone sharp. “Let me reassure him that I’m fine and he’ll stop.”
Another buzz comes from the phone, followed by another new voicemail.
Looking down, I watch as the phone screen eventually turns dark again. My jaw tightens, and an idea springs into my mind.
Without thinking twice, I turn the phone around to face her, lifting it high enough for it to register her features. Within seconds, the screen unlocks with a satisfying sound.
Got it.
Kat freezes with the realization, brows raising before furrowing. “Don’t you dare—”
But my fingers are already moving across the keyboard, doing my best to craft a disarming text on the spot.
‘Hey, everything’s all good. Just taking time for myself. Don’t worry, I’ll check in later.’
And…sent.
As the text goes with the familiar sound to confirm it, Kat growls to herself and lunges forward, reaching for the phone.
“You asshole!”
Pulling the phone out of reach, I feel as her body collides with mine, sending a brief shiver through me. With it out of the way, I lean a touch closer.
“You’re welcome.”
Those brown eyes of hers flare with barely-contained rage as she hits my chest, but I don’t move away.
“You can’t just…what gives you the right—”
Pocketing the phone, I gently grab her wrists between us, making her pause. “Everything gives me the right. Legally, you’re mine now. My responsibility and my problem. I won’t have some side character assuming he gets to insert himself in this.”
“Side character,” she echoes incredulously with a subtle shake of her head. That rage holds on tightly while she looks up at me, but she doesn’t pull away either. The flicker of something else beneath the surface gives her away. “Roland is my friend. He has been for some time, and if that’s something you can’t stomach, then it’s not my problem.”
“Are you assuming I’m jealous of him?” I ask, tone lowering at the suggestion.
