He shakes his head.
There’s denial in his smile,
and it pisses me off.
He brings our joint hands into his lap,
pulling us closer together.
“If you think I’m walkin’ away from you again, you’re outta your damn mind." His voice is serious, stripped, his stare nailing the words into me.
Like he picked up the live grenade I’d dropped between us,
threw it back like a shot of Fireball,
and swallowed the blast.
“Allison, if this is your way of tryin’ to push me out the door, you’re doing a terrible job,” he says with a tired, frustrated grin. Because all this shit you’re tellin’ me?…
“It's just pullin' me in deeper."
I blink.
Then I lean back,
taking my hand with me.
Because yeah,
this man’s actually fucking insane.
Who in their right mind signs up for this?
For me?
A short laugh escapes me. I can’t stop it.
It seems I've caught his madness.
“Okay.
“You’re gonna have to back up a sec. I’m lost.”
There’s a smile on my face that doesn’t belong.
It wandered in,
got lost,
confused like the rest of me.
“None of this is making any sense.
“I came here to make sure you knew none of this was your fault. That it wasn’t a lie. I just?—”
I break off and look around the room,
as if someone's fucking with me.
