before ever letting the system or my addiction
touch what’s standing next to me.
He now knows Andrew’s off-limits,
which only means one thing:
I give a fuck about him.
I’d protect him.
And in all my years,
I’ve never protected anyone or anything
but myself.
Not even my songs.
Which makes Andrew the most dangerous thing in the room,
and me undeniably,
involuntarily,
thoroughly
fucked.
“Lemme ask you somethin’,” Ben says to me.
The grin’s still there, but it’s not in his eyes.
“I gotta worry about this guy, or what?”
Yes, this one guy could shake the entire system I’ve built. He'll rip away your home, your financial security, everything.
But the words don’t come out.
My lungs feel stomped on, keeping me quiet.
Ben’s mouth’s still smiling,
but the rest of him isn’t.
“Cool. Crystal clear.”
He twirls the car keys once around his finger and heads off. But right before the doors slide open, he glances back, a look meant to slash through me.
Then he’s gone.
My chest caves, air ripping out.
Andrew’s eyes burns into me, breath jagged,
hands locked on top of his head,
trying to hold himself together.
