I towel dry my long, thick blonde hair enough that it isn’t dripping and wrap myself in a cashmere towel. It’s so soft. Konnor’s new family has money.
When I swing the bathroom door open, Konnor is sitting on the edge of the mattress with his face buried in his hands. At the sight of the bandages around his knuckles, I wince.
He lifts his head as if he heard me, then quickly stands. “Are you okay?”
“Yes.” My heart thumps hard inside my chest as his eyes rake my towel-covered body. A chill rushes through me. My naked legs break out in goosebumps. I like how he's looking at me, but then he lowers his eyes and shifts in place, almost out of discomfort.
He is different with me; I don’t want him to be different with me!
He doesn’t want to be corny or flirty with her… Does he think of me as a sister now? Did seeing Erik with me… spoil me for him or— I don’t know.
“Get dressed.” He walks away from me and strolls around to the living room, not glancing up once.
I stare at the ground, then quickly dress in the clothes Elise brought for me, hiding on the other side of the bookcase, though I doubt he’ll even try to glimpse at me anymore.
I enter the living room, dressed.
He shoots up. “You okay?”
“I’m fine!” I huff. “Please stop asking that!” I didn’t mean to yell. I rub my forehead. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re not fine.”
I drop my hands to my side and stare straight at him. “You’re treating me differently.”
He blinks at me as if I have grown another head. “Yeah.” He nods. “No shit, Blesk. Of course, I am. You mean more to me than anyone else in this damn world. I’m not going to look at you like you are just another girl.”
My chest tightens. “So that is how you looked at me before? Like just another girl.”
“Wait.” He frowns. “No. Fuck, I always looked at you different. I always?—"
“Then look at me like that again.”
He locks his jaw on more words, speaking through gritted teeth. “I can’t. Not right now. You’re my Liz.”
“I’m not that little girl anymore.”
It's taken me years to build some semblance of a life and bury my past, but now he wants to dig it all back up. Treat me like her. What is that going to look like? Is he going to constantly dwell on the past. I don’t want to think about it. I don’t want the nightmares to come back. I don’t want to live as Liz every time he looks at me! I rush towards his apartment door, before I realise what I’m doing.
And I’m out of the room.
I run towards the elevator and step inside, but his feet come thumping after me. They stop when I get inside the elevator—he stops. I turn to face him as he stares at the threshold, distraught and gutted.
“I can’t.” He looks at the elevator doors as they close. He lifts his hand, stopping them. “Please don’t stand in there, Blesk. I can’t go in after you.”
Oh, God.
He can’t use elevators.
My lower lip trembles.
“Please.” His throat rolls. “I’m sorry. I don’t know how to act. I’m doing the best I can, given the circumstances.”
I look at the metal strip between the elevator and the hallway. The doors go to close again, and he uses his foot this time, groaning as the tip of his shoe slides slightly inside the metal box. “Please. Come out of there.” His voice strains. “I’m not acting differently because I don’t want to know Blesk anymore. I’m just trying to respect you and be nice to you. Given things are different. That is all this is. After everything that happened yesterday... I have no idea how to act."
The doors begin to close again.
I hit the hold button and step out into the hallway. He exhales hard, clearly relieved. We take a few moments standing there, me waiting for him and him waiting for me.
