Page 7 of Fated to Her

“It’s not about what we want. She isn’t comfortable with us,” I tell him, and he raises an eyebrow at me.

“You have changed your tune,” Cyrus says, shutting the water off and snatching a towel.

“I don’t want to lose her. She scared me today. I haven’t seen her like that before.”

Cyrus nods.

“She would have killed him. She wanted to,” I tell him.

“Can you blame her? Taylor is her sister. And after Sam—”

“We can’t force her home,” I tell him.

“So, what do you want to do?”

“Wait here for her. Hope she eventually wants to be with us.”

I walk into the bedroom. I find some jeans and a black shirt, pulling them on before leaving out. Cyrus follows behind me as we make our way to the living room, only to find her asleep on the armchair.

“Should we just leave her? She is already asleep.”

I shake my head. “I promised to take her home.”

Her coffee’s gone cold on the coffee table. Cyrus picks it up and puts it in the sink.

“Addie?” I whisper, shaking her shoulder, but she is out cold.

Cyrus comes over and shrugs, wanting to let her sleep. Instead, I pick her up.

“She is asleep, Eli.”

“I promised to take her home,” I tell him, and he groans but goes to fetch the car keys.

She shivers, and I grab the throw blanket off the back of the couch, draping it on her before walking toward the front door.

Cyrus opens the back door of the car, and I climb in, leaving her on my lap, not wanting to wake her.

“Seatbelt?” Cyrus says, but I shut the door. He gets in the front.

“Are you planning on crashing?” I ask him.

“Not with her in the car, no,” he answers before starting the engine.

Addie wriggles in my arms, moving before pressing her face to my neck. She moans softly, and I see Cyrus look at us in the rearview mirror.

“Is she hot?” he asks.

I nod before kissing her forehead.

Cyrus drives us to her house. The car stops, and he opens the back door for me. He rummages through her handbag, finding her house keys. Inside the house is dark, the only light coming from the hallway up the stairs. We head up and I see Debbie’s door open and her lamp on. Stopping at the door, she gets up, tossing the blanket back.

“Is she asleep?” she asks.

I nod, and Debbie comes out, opening Addie’s door for me. She then goes to talk to Cyrus while I place her in bed, except she doesn’t let my shirt go.

Cyrus walks in, prying her fingers off, and I lay her down. Her entire body shudders, and she starts shaking in her sleep.

“She does that. I check her every night. She is always shaking,” Debbie says, touching her head. Her face becomes flushed.