It’s beenfour weeks since I last saw Declan.
I’m getting better. Or, at least, I’m pretending it is.
The intercom buzzes on Sunday morning, jolting me. I’m in sweats, my hair is a mess, and I’m still wearing makeup from the night before. I’m not expecting anyone, so who gives a damn?
“Miss Briggs?” One of the security guards says when I press the button. “There’s a Declan Murphy here to see you.”
My heart screeches to a stop.
Then it slams back to life, pounding so hard I can’t breathe.
Four weeks of silence. Four weeks of crying myself to sleep. Four weeks of dancing until my feet bled because it was the only way to stop thinking about him.
And now he’s here.
“Miss Briggs? Should I send him up?”
My hand hovers over the button. I could say no. Tell security to tell him to fuck off. Let him feel what it’s like to be rejected.
But my voice betrays me.
“Yes, send him up.”
I have maybe two minutes. I don’t fix my hair or wipe away the mascara smudges from yesterday’s crying fit. I don’t change out of the ratty tank top with the hole in the hem.
If he’s going to see me, he’s going to see the mess he made.
I make him wait once I hear the knock. I count to ten. Then to fifteen.
A lump lodges in my throat as I pull open the door.
My eyes widen. Wow. He looks almost as bad as I do. Dark circles stain the underside of his eyes. The stubble on his face is closer to a beard. He’s lost weight, too.
Good. Fucker.
“Molly.”
“Declan.”
Then, nothing.
Lola appears behind me, hisses at him, and stalks away.
Monarch runs toward him, tail wagging, and she tries to lick Declan’s face.
Traitor.
“Can I come in?” he asks after petting her.
I don’t move. “Why? I think we’ve said all that needs to be said.”
“Because I’m aneejit. Agobshite. A fucking fool who let the best thing in his life walk out the door because he was scared.”
My heart pounds. Hard. But I don’t let him off easy.
“Scared of what?”
“Of loving you too much. Of losing you.” He runs a hand through his hair. “I thought if I pushed you away, you’d be safe. But you weren’t safe. You were just gone. And I was fucking dying without you.”
