“Hey,” he says softly as my first tear finally falls. Dipping down, he captures it with his lips. “It’s okay, I’ve got you. Whatever it is, you can talk to me.”
I suck in a shaky breath and hold his worried eyes.
“Walking away from you that night was all I’d been able to think about. From the second I woke up and found myself locked up in the basement, my entire focus was getting away from you.
“But the second my plan played out.” I swallow thickly. “I regretted it. Seeing the disbelief on your face when I stepped between Cruz and Xander… it fucking killed me, Theo. The moment I walked away with them, I knew it was wrong.”
“So why did you go through with it? You could have changed your mind at any point.”
“Because… it was the right thing to do,” I explain. “What we have—had—it was toxic, Theo. You can’t argue with that. All the lies, the secrets. All the things we did to hurt each other. It wasn’t right. Being locked up in here. All of it was so fucking twisted.
“We needed to be apart. I needed to know how much it hurt to walk away.
“All these weeks, months, we’ve danced around each other like this connection between us meant nothing. But that’s not true. This… what we have. It’s everything, Theo.
“And I walked away and then I put pay to anything that might have come out of it. Whether or not it was the right thing to do, I made that decision alone. That’s not how it should be. I should have waited. I should have told you, but I was so fucking angry at both of us that I could barely think straight.
“I wanted to hurt you as much as you hurt me. But I didn’t realise at the time how I would hurt myself in the process.
“But now, being here with you… I walked away and potentially aborted what could have been our pregnancy without so much as a second thought.”
“Stop it,” Theo snaps, the deepness of his voice shocking me before he tries again. “Stop it, please.” This time, he sounds as broken as I am right now.
“Everything you did… Everything. It was right. All of it.
“I deserved to watch you walk away. Twice. I deserved it all and then some.
“I wanted to believe so badly that you were the enemy so that I wouldn’t have to deal with how I really felt. And that was wrong. So wrong. And I deserve all your wrath for it.”
Turning onto my side, I line our bodies up, hooking my leg over his hip, ensuring there’s no space between us.
“We both fucked up, Theo. We’ve both made mistakes, ruined what we really wanted and intentionally hurt each other. We’re both to blame for how everything went down.”
He shakes his head. “No, you’re—“
“Shh,” I say, pressing my fingers to his lips. “Enough. It’s our past, our story, some of which we might be able to relay to our kids one day. Who knows.” His lips twitch with the beginnings of a smile. “But right now, we’re young. Too young to have been through all the shit we have. How about we just take a step forward and look toward the future instead of obsessing about what’s already gone before.”
Wrapping his fingers around my wrist, he drags my hand out of the way and captures my lips in a searing kiss that makes my heart sing and my toes curl.
“Is that a yes?” I ask when he finally pulls back to catch his breath.
“It’s more than a yes, babe.”
After spending all day at Theo’s, he reluctantly agreed that I should go home so that I could sleep in my own bed before going back to reality tomorrow.
To be honest, I was more than happy to stay and have him escort me to school in the morning.
Going back after breaking Sloane’s nose would certainly be easier if I were tucked under his arm. No one would dare say a word to me about it all with him right beside me.
But that’s not the kind of girl I am. I don’t run from adversity and confrontation, and I don’t intend on doing it now from some entitled little rich bitch. Although, if what Theo has discovered is true, then she’s no longer a rich bitch. Oh, how the mighty fall.
“I could just bring you back in the morning to get your uniform.” Theo pouts at me, pulling out all the stops with his puppy dog eyes.
“Stop that,” I say, swatting his thigh. “You know it’s the right thing to do.”
When I brought up starting over this morning, I meant really starting over.
I wasn’t going to suddenly pack up my life and move in with him. Yeah, technically we’re married. But we’re still young. We’ve got plenty of time to play house. For now, I just want to be… normal. Despite the fact that that thought is laughable after everything. I know it’s the right thing to do. Even if Theo is in a bit of a pissy mood about it.
“I’ll see you in the morning.”
“You could leave your window open. For old time’s sake. I love watching you sleep. It relaxes me.”
I pretend to think about it for a few seconds. “Maybe I will,” I tease.
“You’re killing me, babe.”
“It’ll be worth it. I promise. Now go, your mum, brother, and sisters are waiting for you.”
“They’re gonna be pissed when I turn up without you.”
“Next time,” I promise.
As if she knows we’re talking about her, Theo’s mum pops up on the screen as his phone rings through the speakers.
“I’m late,” he confesses.
“I know. Go. We’ll talk later.”
“We will.” Something wicked twinkles in his eyes, but the second his lips find mine, I forget all about it.
I climb out of the car the second he releases me for fear that I’ll just tell him to drive and take me with him.
Stay strong, Emmie. Don’t lose your mind over his dick.
“Hello?” I call after letting myself in and waving Theo off.
“Living room,” Dad calls.
Dropping my bags, I follow his instruction and find him and Piper curled up on the sofa, watching what looks like a nature program. Oh, the ways that woman has changed my father.
“What’s so funny, kiddo?”
“Um…” I look between him and the TV. “Are you really watching a documentary about trees?” I ask, quirking a brow.
“No, not really. It was just background noise.”
“For?” I realise my mistake the second the word falls from my lips. My eyes drop to the blanket covering them before I lift them to the ceiling. “Just pretend I never said that. I’m gonna go shower and get ready for school in the morning.”
“Oh, so you remembered that you live here then?” Dad quips, making a show of lifting his hands from beneath the blanket to show me nothing untoward was happening.
“Yeah. This is my home, and school is my priority,” I state proudly. “All the rest, I’ll figure out along the way.”
Both Dad and Piper smile at me.
“And what does Theo think of all this?” Piper asks after a few seconds.
“Well, his need to control everything around him and keep me safe is freaking him the hell out right now. I’ve sent him to Selene. Hopefully, she’ll sort him out.”
“I’m pretty sure the only person in the world that boy really listens to is you, Em,” Dad mutters with amusement.