He takes it from me, so it’s not dangling from my hand. Glancing at Pihu, he commands, “We should go.”
“Yeah, okay.” Turning to Nova and Rosalie, I say, “Thank you for everything tonight. You’ve done amazing with the hospital, Rosalie.”
“You’re welcome.” She pulls me in a hug. “See you soon.”
Bidding her goodbye, I follow Nathan outside. Unlike the protectiveness I felt from him when we came earlier, an iciness wraps around him that chills my bones.
The worry over Pihu lessened, I become hyperaware of the problems between us. The distance. The awkwardness. The unspoken feelings.
He doesn’t even spare me a glance when he buckles me into the seat. There’s no slamming of the door when he closes it, yet I startle anyways.
It feels like he’s slamming the door on us.
On what we could’ve been.
Locking us inside the car, he pulls out of parking lot and immediately turns the volume up on the radio, sending a clear message he isn’t interested in talking.
I twist my head to stare out the window, biting my lip to swallow back a sob. It didn’t hurt as much when Aryan left me at the altar.
The long drive is tensed, stretching like a rubber band seconds away from breaking. Even though you know an acute sting is coming, you still aren’t prepared.
We turn onto my street, my building standing tall and glittering in the distance. Less than a minute later, we’re parking outside of it. I make a move to open the door, when his voice stops me.
“Wait.” Stepping out from the car, he reaches my side and holds open the door. “Let me take Pihu. I’ll walk you to your apartment.”
“Thanks.” I pass her to him and unbuckle my seat belt. Grabbing her medicine and my things, I get out and close the door.
The night shift doorman nods his head and lets us in. I blink against the bright lighting of the lobby as we strut to the elevators. The higher we climb, the lower my stomach sinks. I hate the heavy silence all the way to my apartment. It’s too much to bear.
Nathan quietly follows me inside. “Where do you want her?”
“The bedroom,” I answer, trailing toward the hall that’ll lead me there. I put the medicine on the nightstand while Nathan lays Pihu on the bed and fluffs the blanket around her so she isn’t cold.
My pulse skips a beat when he caresses the top of her head lovingly before straightening.
Our eyes lock.
His are impassive, while mine are full of pain and confusion.
“I’m going to go,” he murmurs, his voice devoid of emotion and his shadowed face a mask of impenetrable mask. I take a step to walk him out when he coldly halts me. “Stay with Pihu. I’ll walk myself out.”
Without waiting to see if I’ll agree, he sidesteps the bed and briskly exits.
I stay rooted to the spot, feeling the last of my strength wither away. A voice in my head whispers if I let him leave, I’ll never know what went wrong. I’ll lose him for good. I’m not tolerating his silent treatment and letting him deny there isn’tsomething between us. He isn’t cheapening what we had for the last two months.
Spinning on my heel, I run outside my room.
His hand is on the doorknob, his head bent like the weight of the world is on his shoulders when I call out, “Why have you been ignoring me?”
His spine goes rigid, but he doesn’t face me.
“Look at me, Nathan,” I whisper.
A rough exhale lifts his broad back, yet he still doesn’t give me his eyes. Even when they’re tightly concealing the thoughts in his head, they tell me more than he realizes.
His head turns as he says in a torn voice, “You’re getting under my skin and I fucking hate that.”
“So, you’re running away?” I murmur, taking a small step toward him. “Between the two of us, it isn’t your thing.”
