“Not mad, little moon.”
“Thank you.”
I clenched my free hand into a fist, or I would’ve done something I’d regretted. Like putting a hole through the nearest wall.
She shouldn’t be this grateful over nothing, goddammit.
One day, after I claimed her as mine, Barclay and I were going to have a serious talk. Even after Elowyn and I moved into our new home, he and everyone else would have to treat her better. Much fucking better.
Swallowing my anger down, I asked, “Who’s your new roommate?”
A small smile curved her pink lips up. “Peanut.”
“Nice name,” I muttered, my throat tight with awe for her.
While my life had revolved around my home, school, and the occasional fistfight, Elowyn was a ball of warmth no matter what happened to her.
“It is.” Briefly, she leaned toward me.
Electric currents buzzed between us.
My lips parted. My hand lifted to cup her cheek.
Too fast, she shook her head and returned to where she was, neck reddening.
All the blood in my body went south. Pressure built in my groin, my erection straining my jeans. It was bad. Real bad. So I cleared my throat. That kind of helped. “Something wrong with it?”
“Withhim, and no, he’s the most perfect little thing.” Her smile dims. “The only problem is, he’s been in the shelter toolong, and so they were about to put him down today. I couldn’t let them.”
That was why she brought him here, then. Even knowing how her family would react, she had to save him.
I was going to make it worth her while. I was going to adopt Peanut. For her.
Yeah, we were poor and couldn’t afford to have a dog. But the pain on Elowyn’s face was unacceptable.
Something had to be done.
“Don’t worry, though. I took care of it.” Before I could say anything, she was already fixing her expression into a determined one. “I added an URGENT banner to his photo on the shelter’s website. By tomorrow, someone will adopt him. You’ll see.”
She wasn’t wrong. The next day, Peanut really did have a new home. As far as I know, he still lives there.
Thanks to Elowyn, he was saved.
I wasn’t.
My teeth grind, remembering how, after every conversation with her, I foolishly believed that Elowyn could love me too.
When my parents died, I was so sure she was the kind of girl who could heal anything. Even a broken, devastated orphan like me.
For a while, she did. Until she ripped me apart.
Without my permission, my fingers curl around Elowyn’s delicate throat.
“You’ve ruined me.” By choosing money and safety. For not even trying. I squeeze her a little tighter. “Whatever reason you had for giving up on us, it doesn’t matter. You’re going down for this. You and your brother.”
And while she’s the one being choked, I’m the one who can’t get a breath in.
It’s her fault. Again.
