Total pages in book: 136
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 137326 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 687(@200wpm)___ 549(@250wpm)___ 458(@300wpm)
Kane reaches a hand out, and before I can stop him, he wraps it around my waist, pulling me close to him.
His fingers burn through my clothes, and my heart jolts as if it’s been shocked back to life.
God. I almost forgot how delicious he smells.
Calming, too.
A week ago, all I wanted was to bury my face in his chest and fall asleep.
Now, I’m so mad at him, I want to hurt him.
“I’ll wait for you until you do.”
I lift my chin. “You’ll be waiting for a long time.”
He drops a kiss on my nose. “As long as it takes to get back what’s mine. And you are fucking mine, wildflower. Don’t forget that.”
“Ughh!”
My groan is loud as I flop onto the stool facing Vi.
She pours me a cup of coffee and slides a plate of scrambled eggs in front of me.
But I’m focused on the view through the kitchen window. Kane’s standing by his car, his left hand in his pocket and his right hand scrolling through his phone.
As if sensing I’m there, he lifts his head and flashes me a smile, then waves.
I glare back.
He’s there all the time.
Shoveling snow when I try to.
Doing our grocery shopping and buying us more shit than we need.
Following me if I go out at night for a walk.
Always.
There.
Like a damn parasite.
“Fucking asshole,” I mutter and then angle my chair so I’m not facing him. “Why doesn’t he just go away?”
“He’s been there for two weeks, Dahl, missing three games in the process without batting an eye. He said he feigned an injury nonchalantly, but you know that’s serious, not to mention school and practice.” Vi smiles as she sits opposite me, a coffee in hand. “I don’t think he’ll be going away anytime soon.”
“Well, I didn’t force him to miss his games.” I stab my fork into the eggs. “It’s not my fault he’s sabotaging himself and his team.”
“Instead of this vicious cycle, maybe you can just turn the page?”
“Not even if he stands there his entire life.” I narrow my eyes. “Why are you taking his side?”
“I’m on your side. You’ve clearly been suffering since you came here. You’ve been restless lately, taking apart the radio, the mixer, and other electronic devices and putting them back together again, often breaking them in the process.”
I take a sip of the bitter coffee. “I said I’ll buy a new mixer.”
“It’s not about that.” Her eyes soften. “You’re kind of destructive without a purpose, and you really hate that you’re not in college or in the lab juggling a million projects at the same time, don’t you? What about the scholarship you worked your ass off for? You’re going to lose it just like that?”
My chest tightens, but I say, “Doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me.” She pats my hand on the table. “Listen, I know it’s hard, even impossible for you to trust people, and you never had friends.”
“Not true. I have you. And Megan! She’s really sweet. You’ll love her…” I wince. “Not that you’ll get to meet her since she’s in that town.”
“All right, but my point stands. Trusting people is foreign territory to you, so when Kane broke that trust, it hurt you badly. You don’t want to be in pain again, which is why you’re pushing him away. But ask yourself, Dahlia. What hurts more? Losing him or being with him?”
My fingers loosen around the fork and I glance sideways.
I flinch when I find Kane still staring at me.
Jeez.
I stab the egg again and glare at Vi.
“What?” she asks.
“What did he tell you that time I came back from the library and found you feeding him in the kitchen? Why are you this…chill about the whole thing?”
The only upside of Kane’s presence is that Vi has kind of relaxed, and she’s not always watching the windows as if she’ll be kidnapped by the boogeyman.
She still looks out the windows, but it’s more of a habit now.
“He said it was unnecessary to tell you, but I disagree. Actually…”
“Actually?” I lean closer.
“Kane forced Jude to delete my name from his list. He offered him the entire list in return.”
“No way. Julian implied that’s the only way Kane can keep Jude under control.”
“Well, he gave that up for you.” Her shoulders drop. “I wish he’d stop his friend instead of enabling him, but I guess there’s nothing we can do about that. The point is, he’s serious about you, Dahl. It’s up to you to decide whether or not you’re serious about him.”
My grip tightens around the cup. “So what if I am? What if I love him? Those feelings will eventually die, and I’ll be stuck in a world where I’m always an outsider. Kane and I shouldn’t have crossed paths in the first place.”
“And you’re okay with that? Not fighting? That’s so unlike you.”