way I can. “I’m sorry for the things I said. I was
confused and feeling out of sorts and—”
“I’m not the right type for you. I’m not the right
type for anyone. I’m not able to stay emotionally
close to a person. I’m a selfish asshole and I
always have been.”
“I know,” I tell him, caressing his bearded face
slowly. At my touch he pulls away sharply.
“Stay away from me, Erin. Please. I can’t … I
can’t be what you need me to be. I’m not that kind
of man, don’t you understand that? I’m not even a
man.”
His words break my heart.
“See, I don’t want to hurt anybody,” he goes on.
“I don’t want to hurt you.”
I lower my glance and let the tears flow, for by
now, there’s no point holding in my feelings.
“I’ve already done it once,” Patrick continues.
“I can’t allow it to happen again.”
“What? What are you…” I don’t have the
courage to finish the question, to listen to what he
has to say.
He sighs in frustration and rubs his eyes with
his fists.
“I was eighteen and she was seventeen…” he
starts to tell me as I try to swallow something that
is straining my throat. “It happened. We weren’t
careful. I wasn’t careful.”
“You were young...”
He shakes his head vigorously.
