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Her eyes are still just a tad too wide, and she’s still fiddling with her ring. “Thanks. And thanks for being so willing, Xander. I know it’s short notice—”
I cut her off with a kiss that sends a shiver through her body.
To be honest, not having her here has been killing me. Not knowing what she’s doing, wondering who she’s with, who’s making her smile and laugh.
It’s been driving me mad.
“If I could, I’d never let you leave.”
Then I step back, taking in the view.
Sophia. Here. In my bedroom—our bedroom. One day, I hope she fully recognizes the layout. It’s been years, but it’s still our house.
With a small smile, Sophia turns to unzip her bag. I stare at her for a few more seconds before getting to work rearranging my things. Thankfully, I have plenty of extra room in my closet. It just takes a minute of organizing things differently before Sophia has all the space she could need.
When I step back into my bedroom, Sophia has both her palms on my bed. She’s leaning forward with her eyes closed.
“What’s going on, Sophia?” There’s no compassion in my voice, but I don’t care. I’ll wrench out all of her secrets until she’s laying bare beneath me. I don’t care how long it takes.
She jumps at my voice. “What’s—what’s going on?”
“You’re hiding something. Don’t you dare lie to me.”
Shaking her head, she says, “I’m fine, Xander. I promise.”
I’m on her in an instant, flipping her around and throwing her onto the bed. She squeals as she lands on her back.
Straddling her hips, I pin her arms beside her. “You can’t hide things from me, so don’t try.”
“Xander,” she gasps, squirming underneath me. “Please—please don’t.”
I lean down until I’m mere inches from her face. “Then come clean.”
“Get off me,” she whispers. Her voice is so small, so broken. What’s even worse, there’s fear in her eyes.
I don’t hesitate. The second I’m off of her, she gasps in a breath, covering her face with her hands.
There are times when I can see it in her eyes that she wants me, even when she’s glaring at me. But this—as I watch her curl up on top of my dark comforter, she looks so small. This is different than the times she eggs me on with her bad attitude.
A disgusting thought crosses my mind, and anger slashes through me. “Was it Brent? Did he do something to you?”
She shakes her head.
“You’d tell me if you were in danger, right? If you were in some sort of trouble.”
“Of course, Xander.” She sits up, wiping away a few tears. “Please just let this go.”
Crossing my arms, I say, “I’ll forget about it on one condition. You take the rest of the summer off from the coffee shop.”
Her head snaps up. To my relief, she’s glaring at me. “What?”
“Just for the summer. Work on your book. Stop killing yourself. I’ll take care of you. And I’ll keep paying your rent.”
“You’re fucking kidding me, right?”
I shake my head.
Truth is, I don’t want to let her out of my sight. I practically shoved her into Tristan’s path, and I’ll do everything possible to keep her safe.
