I sigh. He’ll need to unlock the apartment door, too. There’s no avoiding it.
When he comes back down, I head upstairs and close the door behind me.
I turn toward the bathroom.
“Abigail,” he says, following me. “I think you should stay at the compound.”
I need to get those keys back.
“I’m taking a shower and going to bed,” I say flatly. “I appreciate your help, but I want to be alone.”
“We both know that’s not true, baby,” he says softly.
I force myself not to react to the nickname.
How many times had I wished he’d call mebaby?
An embarrassing number of times.
“You don’t like being alone,” he continues. “You hate the quiet. We both know you only moved out here to get away from me. Now you’re hurt, and the last thing you need is to be alone. Just let me hold you while you sleep. Let me keep you safe so the dreams stay away. Let me love you, baby.”
That’s it.
Something inside me shatters.
“How dare you,” I say, my voice shaking with disbelief. “Howdareyou stand there and throw back promises I begged for. How dare you act like you didn’t break me over and over and freaking over every time I told you how much I loved you.”
He opens his mouth, but I don’t let him speak.
“Andnowyou want to give me your heart?” I continue, anger flooding out of me. “Nowyou want to keep me safe so the dreams won’t come? Are you kidding me, Tank?”
I laugh sharply, bitter and broken.
“What about when I called you from Sammy’s house forweeksbecause the nightmares wouldn’t stop…and you stopped answering? What about when I came back to the compound, and you acted like being in the same room with me was a damn inconvenience?”
My chest heaves.
“To hell with you.”
I take a shaky breath.
“I fought through the fear. I fought through the nightmares. I did italone, because you decided you didn’t even want my friendship anymore.”
My voice drops, deadly calm.
“And I’ll do it alone again.”
I point toward the door.
“Go home, Tank. I don’t want you here.”
“Abigail.”
“You got what you wanted, Chad,” I say, using his real name for the first time. I hate it. It doesn’t fit him. It strips away everything familiar, everything safe. And that’s exactly why I use it.
Impersonal is what I need from him right now.
“The poor, pathetic Iron Shadows Princess has finally stopped begging you for love,” I continue, my voice steady even though my hands are shaking. “So go. Let me lick my wounds and heal on my own… again.”
