“I’m trying to protect you.”
“I never asked you to protect me!”
Echo goes still. Completely, utterly still.
For a moment, neither of us says anything. I can hear my own breathing. Can feel the heat creeping up my neck, and the sting of tears I refuse to let fall.
“Look. I hear you,” I say finally, forcing my voice to steady. “I get it, and I believe you. I know you think you’re helping. But this is my problem to handle. Not yours.” I swallow hard, my throat tight. “So please, just go.”
“I’m not leaving you with him.”
“Echo, I swear to God, if you don’t stop, I will never ever speak to you again. Is that what you want?”
Echo stares at me. And I see the exact moment my words hit him. Hurt flashes across his face, and his jaw clenches so hard I’m afraid his teeth might crack. Then, without saying another word, he turns and walks out.
The door swings shut behind him, and I immediately want to take back everything that just happened. Every word. Every accusation. Every single thing that made the one person I can be myself with, look at me like that.
Even though it hurts, I force myself to turn around.And after taking a second to clear my head, I walk back to the table on legs that don’t quite feel like my own.
Josh watches me approach, and the smugness in his expression makes my stomach churn. He literally looks like he just won something, which pisses me off because what just happened had nothing to do with him.
“That was intense,” Josh says, smiling at me as I take my seat across from him.
“Yeah.” I reply, placing the napkin on my lap without really looking at him. “It was.”
He leans forward. “What the hell was his problem, anyway?”
I glare at him.
Is he really going to blame this all on Echo? I mean, sure, Echo’s tactics completely crossed the line, but nothing he said was untrue. It is weird that Josh looked into my past before he met me, and for him to not even apologize or at the very least acknowledge that what he did was wrong is crazy.
Fuck this.I don’t even want to be here. And it’s not like I plan on seeing him again after this, so what’s the point of forcing myself to sit through this dinner?
“Actually,” I say, grabbing my purse as I stand up from the table. “I’m gonna go.”
Josh cocks his head. “What? We haven’t even eaten yet.”
“I know. But this isn’t going anywhere, and it’s not fair for me to pretend like it is.”
“Dahlia, wait—” He says, reaching for my hand, but I manage to pull back before he can touch me.
“Don’t,” I say firmly.
His expression hardens. “You’re serious.”
“Yes.”
“Because of him?”
“Because of me.” I take a step back. “And because of what you did. Regardless of your intentions, digging into my past like that was wrong, Josh. I’m done. We’re done.”
I turn and walk out before he can say anything else.
The second I’m outside, I stop and pull out my phone. No new messages. I stare at the screen, waiting for some kind of sign from Echo that I know isn’t coming. He’s gone. And I’m the one who told him to go.
I lock my phone and slip it back into my purse, knowing that for the first time in weeks, I’m completely on my own. No one watching. No one following. No one making decisions for me.
This is what I wanted.
