“The hell it doesn’t.”
“It shouldn’t!” Her voice cracks, and she rips her wrist from my hand. “This is my mess!”
“And I’m telling you it isn’t just yours anymore.”
“Miles,” Kaitlin says again, stepping between us. “Maybe you should give her a minute.”
I clench my jaw so hard it aches. Every instinct in me is screaming to fix this, but the more I push, the farther away she gets.
Maddie looks over at Kaitlin before turning back to me. “Can you go downstairs and call us an Uber?”
Kaitlin hesitates. “Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Kaitlin glances between us one last time before nodding. “I’ll be right outside.”
The apartment falls silent the second the door closes.
Maddie lets out a shaky breath, rubbing her forehead. “I can’t do this.”
“Yes, you can.”
She laughs, but there’s no humor behind it. “You don’t get it.”
“Then help me understand.”
She shakes her head. “No. Because the more you know, the more danger you’re in.”
“I don’t care.”
“Well, I do!” Her voice echoes through the apartment. “I care enough for both of us.”
I stare at her, my heart pounding against my ribs. “Maddie…”
“No,” she says, as she angrily wipes at the tears spilling down her cheeks. “You don’t get to decide what risks I take.”
“I know.”
“No, you don’t.” She steps closer, her finger pressing firmly into the center of my chest. “You don’t get to tell me where I should stay, who I should trust, or what I need to do. I’ve spent my whole life with men making choices for me, convincing themselves it was for my own good. I finally got away from that, and I’m not letting it happen again.”
Her words hit me harder than any punch could. Because she’s right. I wasn’t trying to control her, I was trying to protect her. But somewhere along the way, I’d stopped seeing the difference.
I let out a slow breath. “You’re right.”
She blinks.
“I shouldn’t have told you what to do.”
Her tension in her shoulders eases ever so slightly.
“I just…” I run a hand over the back of my neck, searching for the right words. “I don’t know how to stand here and watch someone I care about get torn apart without wanting to do something.”
Her eyes soften. For one brief second, I think she’s going to let me hold her. Instead, she takes a step backward.
“I can’t stay here, Miles.”
I nod slowly, even though every part of me wants to tell her she’s making a mistake.
