“I’ll be okay. I’ll keep my doors locked.”
He doesn’t look nearly satisfied, but he only grits his teeth.
“I need to prep for Jeremiah’s trial next week.” I don’t know why I tell him that, but I can’t come up with anything else to say.
He nods, tipping his head to look at me as if he’s debating something before he tugs on my blazer to pull me in for a hug.
I savor the way it feels because I’m too weak to miss out on a chance to be held. Especially when I’m already warring with myself about wanting him to stay.
But despite how desperately I want to forgive him for all the heartbreak he put me through, I can’t forget how it felt. And that is the only way I can get myself to pull back.
His lips brush my forehead as he turns to leave, though, and I feel more of the bad memories fade away…
Replaced bysomething new.
* * *
They tell you not to bring your work home with you, but it’s the only way that I’m making it through the days without having an existential crisis.
Every day, Hayes drops me off at home, and I lie about wanting him to stay. I immediately distract myself with my case, ignoring my heart and the way it aches for him.
I pretend all day to be fine, and suffer all evening because I’m trying to resist his irrefutable pull.
And yet, when there is a knock on my door, his face is who I hope for first.
“Surprise!” Thea says when I open the door. “We came to check on you.”
I let her and baby Kate in, her little blonde curls bouncing as Thea carries her inside. She reaches for me, and my heart melts.
There is nothing that a sweet baby can’t fix. “How’s my girl, today?”
“Oh, I’m fine, thanks,” Thea giggles at herself. “Kate’s cutting some teeth. She’s been a little grumpy.”
“I don’t believe her, Kate. You’re an angel.” I swing her around in circles, dancing through my living room before hitting the snack cabinet.
“So why are you really here?” I ask after setting Kate up with her favorite puffs.
“Just checking in.” Thea smiles.
“We text all day long and have three separate conversations happening at any given moment. Why the sudden visit?”
“Hayes has called Jesse three times this week, wanting toknow if you were okay.”
The pit in my stomach I’ve been trying to ignore grows heavier. “I’m fine.”
“Obviously, you are not fine because despite our hundreds of texts back and forth all week long, you failed to mention a rift happening between you and him or that your old teacher might be your stalker.”
“Mr. Arkett is not involved. It has to be a mistake. And, there isn’t a rift happening. The rift was already in place. Nothing has changed.”
“Oh, Liv.” She looks at me sympathetically.
“What?”
“You’re so cute when you try to lie to me.”
“I am not lying.”
“Wow, this is worse than I thought. You’re really fighting this.”
