Silence stretched for a moment.
“I kept thinking someone would take them,” he said.
“That is a risk with hallways.”
“Yeah.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “I remembered the spare key.”
My chest tightened. “And you used it?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“I thought I would just open the door,” he said. “Set everything inside. Lock it again.” He lifted his head. “I wasn’t going to step inside.”
That part sounded exactly like something Liam would believe counted as restraint.
“And then Markie called the police.”
Markie screamed again. “INTRUDER.”
I pointed down the hall. “He’s going to talk about this forever.”
Liam nodded. “I deserve that.”
I studied him for a moment. His explanation had been straightforward. He hadn’t made any excuses or attempted to twist the situation.
He knew exactly how it looked. He also hadn’t asked me to make it easier for him or given me the burden of carrying the emotional weight.
That made it harder to stay angry.
Unfortunately, my brain was already heading somewhere else.
Old territory.
The place where one bad decision could turn into my problem in under thirty seconds. The place where my body never seemed entirely convinced that mistakes stayed small.
I trusted Liam. That was part of the problem. If this had been some random man with bad intentions, anger would have been simpler. Instead, I was standing there with someone I felt safe with, trying to figure out how much of my reaction belonged to what had happened, and how much of it was old panic showing up in my nervous system with a clipboard and a flashlight. I needed time to figure that out.
I straightened slightly. “Liam.”
He looked up immediately.
“Entering my apartment without permission is not okay.”
“I know.”
“Even if the intention was good.”
“You’re right.”
“I need you to understand that.”
“I do.”
He didn’t argue, didn’t make me manage his feelings on top of my own. He just accepted it.
That made the next part harder.
