Page 333 of Faking the Goal

"Yes."

"Fuck him."

"You don't understand."

"No, you don't understand." He pushes abruptly to his feet, dragging both hands through his hair as he begins pacing beside my bed. "You think I'm going to let that sick fuck decide whether I get to be with you? You think I'm going to walk away after what he did?"

"I think that's exactly why you should walk away."

He stops.

The look he gives me is raw enough to make my stomach twist.

I grip the blanket over my lap, twisting the stiff hospital fabric between my fingers. "He did this because he believes you really are my boyfriend. And because he thinks I belong to him, he sees you as the person taking me away from him."

"And you think pushing me away is going to fix that?"

"This isn't about fixing anything."

"Then what is it about?"

"Protecting you!"

The words rip from my throat, too loud and too desperate, and pain shoots through my ribs as my body jerks. I gasp, folding inward, and Kentaro is beside me immediately.

"Taylor." His anger vanishes as quickly as it came. "Easy. Don't move."

One arm slips carefully behind my shoulders while the other steadies my side, helping me ease back against the pillows without putting pressure on my ribs. His movements are slow and gentle, but I can feel the tension in his hands, the fear he is trying so hard not to show.

"I can protect myself," he whispers.

I shake my head, tears already burning behind my eyes. "You can't promise that."

My voice breaks, and this time I cannot hold them back. They spill hot and relentless down my cheeks while he remains beside the bed, one hand still braced at my shoulder, looking as helpless as I feel.

"I don't care what he does to me," I whisper.

His expression turns furious. "Don't say that."

"It's true."

"No, it isn't."

"It is." I press a trembling hand against my mouth, but the sob pushes through anyway. "I've been hurt before. I know how to survive it. I know how to put myself back together when someone tears me apart. Maybe I don't come back the same every time, but I come back. I always do."

Kentaro shakes his head slowly, his eyes shining now.

"But I can't do that if he hurts you," I continue. "I can't survive that. I can't lie in another hospital bed knowing you're in one too because of me. I can't watch him take the person I—"

The person I love.

I stop just before the words escape.

Kentaro catches them anyway. I see it in the sudden stillness of his body, in the way his gaze searches my face.

"The person you what?" he asks softly.

I close my eyes.