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Something passes in his gaze. “With you.”
His words punch into my heart.
I’d give just about anything to know what those memories are.
“I’m so—”
“Your turn,” he interjects.
“Well,” I begin, rubbing my damp palms on my dress. “I’m here having di
I have no idea what to make of the look he gives me.
The silence stretches between us until the only thing I hear are cars passing in the distance and the pounding of my heart.
“I feel like I don’t belong anywhere,” I confess after another minute. “Like I’m stuck on the outside looking in on a world I can no longer remember with people who want me to be a certain way…but no matter how hard I try, I’m constantly failing to live up to their expectations.”
Namely Stone’s.
“I get that.” A long, weary sigh escapes him. “But other people’s expectations are their problem…not yours.” His eyes meet mine. “You don’t have to live up to what anyone else wants you to be, Bianca. Your life is your path.”
God, he makes it sound so simple…so effortless.
“That’s good advice,” I tell him. “You’re pretty smart.”
He laughs, but there’s no humor. “Trust me, baby girl. I’m not. I’ve just made a lot of mistakes.”
He’s so young yet it seems like he’s lived a thousand lifetimes.
And carried the weight of each and every one of them on his shoulders.
“Oakley?”
“Yeah?”
I draw in a breath, hoping like hell he’ll change his mind about us. “Can we—”
“No.”
His answer is clipped…resolute.
Frustration rises up my throat. “Why not?”
Nothing. Not even so much as a demand that I go away.
“Whatever,” I mutter as I hike my purse up my shoulder. “I’m not go
My breath catches when he braces his arms on either side of my head, caging me in.
His voice comes out in a harsh rasp that matches the anger swirling in his blue orbs. “You know I almost killed you, right?”
I swallow hard as I peer up at him. “Yeah.”
It’s all I can manage because it’s a struggle to think when he’s this close. My breath comes out choppy as the air around us grows heavy.
Evidently, he feels whatever’s brewing between us too because his eyes darken as his gaze roams over every inch of my face, soaking me in. “Then why the fuck do you want me in your life?”
The truth pours out of me.
“Because I feel something when I’m with you. Something I can’t explain.”
Something that makes no sense.
All I know is the heavy feeling of dread in my chest goes away whenever he’s near.
A shiver breaks free when he drags the tip of his thumb along the scar on my neck. However, it’s the sheer pain filling his eyes that has my heart twisting like someone lodged a dagger into it.
“You should go back inside.” Mere inches from mine now, his face tenses. “With your fiancé.”
It’s like being submerged in a vat of ice water.
“Right.” I duck under his arm. “Have a good night.”
My hand is on the knob when I blurt out, “Unit one, room 206.”
“What’s that?”
“My dorm room.”
A sharp, irritated noise leaves him. “I’m not changing my mind.”
Undeterred, I hold his stare. “And I won’t change mine.”
Because for reasons I can’t explain…
I need him in my life.