“Okay.” She sounds hurt. Small. “Well. I’ll just… I’ll go.” She should go. This is what I want.
But then she stops at the door. “Actually. Before I go. Can I for real get your Wi-Fi password? I need to upload some content, and my cell service is terrible.”
I see my chance to draw a clean line and end this before it goes any further. I can clarify that whatever we had between us cannot be. I can be the villain, so she doesn’t have to wonder.
“No.” The word comes out harsh.
“What?”
I look at her reluctantly. “This isn’t a public network, Eva. I need it secure for my job. I told you, you need to subscribe to Meow Mobile.”
Her face goes through several expressions—confusion, hurt, something harder. “Right. Your job. That you do alone. In your hermit cave.”
“Exactly.”
“Got it.” Her voice is clipped. “Wouldn’t want me cluttering your space any more than I already have.”
“Eva—”
“No, it’s fine. I get it. Last night was… I misread things.” Eva continues, and her voice is shaking now. I don’t dare meet her eyes. “I thought… I thought we were becoming friends.” The word sits between us like broken glass.
“We’re neighbors,” I say. “That’s all.” Each word is a knife I twist into my own chest. We’re so much more than neighbors… or we could have been, if I weren’t such a fucking mess.
I want to take it back. I want to tell her the truth—I’m scared, I’m broken, I’ve wanted her since the moment she screamed at me in the woods, and I want her more every day, and that’s exactly why I can’t have her.
But the words stick in my throat.
Her face pales. Then she nods once, sharp and final. “Right. Well, neighbor, I’ll stay out of your way.”
She leaves before I can respond.
The rest of the day drags. I try to work, but I’m useless. Clay sent over another feature I need to develop for the company, and I’ve been too distracted to even map a flow chart.
I made a woman hate me. On purpose.
I peek out the window where she’s still working, but she doesn’t look toward my house. She doesn’t wave or check if I’m watching her.
Mission accomplished, I guess.
My sister calls around six. I consider not answering, but she’ll just keep calling. “What?”
“Well, hello to you too, grumpy.” She sounds happy, and I hate her for it. “How’s your ankle? Colleen said you seemed upset last night.”
“Fine.”
“Just fine? That’s all I get? Eva is absolutely lovely, and you apparently rushed out of there so quickly.”
“My ankle hurt.”
“Mm-hmm. And how’s Eva after all that?”
“How would I know?”
Silence on the other end. Then, “Asher. What did you do?”
“Nothing.”
“You did something. I can hear it in your voice. What happened?”
