“I’m fine,” I breathe in relief now that my head’s stopped swimming.
“You are not fine,” he grits again.
“This has been happening lately. I just need to rest.”
“What the fuck do you mean? You’ve been having dizzy spells? Passing out?”
“I’ve been passing out.”
He swipes his palms across his face harshly. “Why?”
“I don’t know.”
His jaw tenses, making the muscle in his cheek twitch.
“Are you lying to me? Because I swear to God I’ll call Thearight now and get the truth out of her.”
I know I’m doing better because I roll my eyes at him, and it doesn’t give me vertigo. “My doctor thinks it might be stress-induced, but that’s just a non-answer because they can’t figure out what’s causing it. And, before you ask, Thea knows all of this already.”
“Oh, I’m sure she does. I can see the secrets transmitting back and forth between the two of you every time you’re near each other.”
“They’re not secrets. You just don’t have the privilege of knowing everything about me anymore.”
Chapter Twelve
Hayes
You just don’t have the privilege of knowing everything about me anymore.
As if I don’t already fucking know.
“I get it, Liv. I fucked everything up. I’m a horrible person, and you hate my guts. I fucking get it. But, please, stop hiding things from me. I am begging you.” I fall to my knees in front of her so she’s forced to look me in the eyes. “I cannot do everything in my power to help you if I don’t know what the fuck is going on.”
Her mouth twists down, and I think for a moment that I’ve upset her. I’d rather her be pissed at me than upset.
“My stalker left me another gift,” she admits, and her bottom lip trembles.
“What was it?” I ask softly, gravitating towards her as she leans closer to me.
“A horrifying, sad, dead animal and another note.”
“What did it say?” I grit out.
She squeezes her eyes shut, shaking her head. “It said ‘slut’ but it was written in blood.”
I’m going to kill him. Whoever this fucker is, he’s going todie. “It’s alright, I’ll take care of it.”
“I called Malec on my way here. I don’t know why I came.”
“Because you wanted to feel safe.” She looks at me like she wants to argue, but she doesn’t. “I’ll keep you safe.”
She relents, nodding her head and resting it against my shoulder. I don’t move, I hardly breathe as she takes the comfort she’s willing to tolerate.
We both know it isn’t enough, but her pride won’t allow more.
“Can I stay for a little while? Jackson said he’d get it cleaned up, but I don’t want to go home until it’s gone.”
“Of course, you can.”
