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“I see.” Her shoulders slump as the first tear rolls down her cheek. “I’m sorry, too. Sorry that you don’t see the wonderful person I see. Goodbye, Gideon. Take care of yourself.”
Verity is out of the car before I can say anything else.
I wait until she disappears into her apartment. Then I put the car in reverse and leave, though it feels like the worst decision I’ve ever made. My heart is cracking in two, a pain far worse than anything physical.
I hate leaving her like this, but what else can I do? She’s too precious to me to put her at risk. And if I stay, she’ll never look at me without a touch of fear. She’ll never be able to look me directly in the eyes.
Better for me to hurt her now before I put her at greater risk and make a mistake I can’t undo.
chapter
ten
Verity
“Verity, you should just call him,” Alice says. She’s perched next to me on my sofa, and we’ve been binging terrible disaster movies while I drown my broken heart in an obnoxious amount of ice cream. Sharknado was the best. “I can’t take much more of this moping. You’re so sad and it’s making me sad and I suck at being sad.”
“Why would I call him? He’s the one who walked away, remember?” I snap. It’s only been two days since he dropped me off. When he told me he was a monster, as if that explained everything.
“Keep in mind that he may have ended things, but the man went into beast mode to protect you. That’s proof of how much you meant to him, Ver. He doesn’t randomly walk around stoning people. He doesn’t usually hit people. He did those things because he genuinely thought you could die. I think he’s in love with you.”
I frown as Alice’s words finally sink in. “I’m not sure that means he’s in love with me.” We could’ve died. He may be a gorgon, but he’s neither invincible nor immortal. The thought of him being harmed makes me feel as if I’m crawling out of my skin. I know I would do anything to protect him.
“He did that for you, and you know it. I’m willing to bet he figured you would be even more afraid of him after he was violent in front of you.”
“He was protecting me,” I say quietly. “I told him as much but he wouldn’t listen.”
“Here’s what I know,” Alice says. “My best friend is not a quitter. You’ve always been a fighter. I mean, how long did you badger me until I moved here to be close to you?”
“I hardly think I was badgering you. It was more like strong encouragement. And had I not convinced you, you wouldn’t have the job you love so much.”
Alice snorts. “The job, yes. My jackass of a boss, not so much.”
“Aww, I bet if you tried really hard, you could make him purr.”
“Do not even start with me. We’re talking about you. So don’t deflect. This isn’t about my grumpy kitty cat of a boss.” She licks her spoon and drops it in the pint. “Now, where was I? Oh, right, I was telling you how strong and fearless you are, how tenacious.”
I roll my eyes, annoyed that my attempts to change the subject didn’t work. I blow out a breath. “What are you suggesting?”
“Go to his house. March your happy ass inside and give him a talking to. How dare he decide for you! If you decide snake-man is too scary for you, that’s your choice, but he doesn’t get to take that decision away from you.”
Her words hit their mark in my stubborn heart. While I’ve always been a good girl, studious, rule-following, etc., I’ve never been truly brave enough to fight for what I want.
“Let me ask you something,” Alice says.
I nod at her and set my pint of melting mint choc chip on the coffee table. “Of course.”
“Are you afraid of him? Do you believe he would ever hurt you, turn on you?”
“Never. I think he’d turn himself to stone before he’d ever harm me.”
“Then what are you doing? Throwing away such a good thing? He loves you. If that’s not worth fighting for, I don’t know what is.”
I stare at her for a beat, the encouragement she’s pouring on me flowing through my veins and transforming into courage.
I stand abruptly. I wipe my nose on my shirtsleeve and glance down at myself. “I should probably change clothes. Maybe take a shower?”
“No time for a shower. I’ll approve a cleaner shirt. But I’m living vicariously through this, and I need you to go claim your man—er, monster.”
