She lets out a deep breath as she pulls her knees to her chest.
“I lied,” Liesel says.
I let a beat go by before I answer her.
“I know.”
Just like I know that she didn’t want to die that day. She wanted the pain to end. She didn’t want to be alone.
Liesel opens her mouth to speak, but I beat her to it.
“Come on—bedtime,” I say.
I snatch her glass and put it back in the bag along with mine. Then, I pick up the towel we were sitting on and pack it in the bag before I start walking toward the house.
Liesel keeps step with me, walking by my side instead of behind me, almost like we shared a connection, instead of more lies.
I drop the bag off in the kitchen, and then head up the stairs.
Liesel follows silently, but I can feel the apprehension flowing off her.
We reach the top floor before I stop.
“Last chance, my bed or locked up?”
“Locked up,” she says fiercely.
It pisses me off.
I may not be able to handle her near me during the day, but at night, I want her with me. Her words feed the monster inside me.
An idea forms to persuade her.
“Follow me,” I say.
Liesel does. She chooses her moments, and it seems she’s going to fight me with her lies, not her fists.
I lead her into my bedroom.
She stops abruptly in the doorway. “I said I wouldn’t sleep in your bed.”
“I’m not asking you to sleep in my bed.” I walk over to the closet door and open it.
“This is the only room in the house that doesn’t have a window or door for you to climb out of.”
She smirks. “Why did you let me roam around the beach when you knew I escaped?”
“Because I don’t care how you spend your days. I just care about your nights.”
She tugs on her robe, closing it tighter around her waist.
She hasn’t asked for clothes.
And if I know her, her stubborn ass won’t.
She can pull it as tightly around her as possible, but it can’t hide her body from me. The robe is too big for her, which somehow makes it easier to see the swell of her breasts and the muscles of her legs. The rest of her, though, is left up to my imagination, at least for tonight.
“Don’t test my patience, Liesel. Get in the closet or get in my bed.”