"Thank God," I breathe when I hit the button for the garage and see Rowan's car inside. I've already been by her house and the school, looking for her. I also called Jon Dunham to see if she was there. When he reported that he hadn't seen her, I decided to check here, praying to God she came here despite everything.
Seeing her car allows me to pull in my first full breath since Cadence and Colton told me what went down today. It also tells me that there's still hope I can fix this. She loves me. If ever I needed proof of that, this is it. She came here for me.
I pull in beside her car and jump out, my heart pounding as another bout of anxiety churns through me. Jesus. I've never been this unsettled before. I need to see her, touch her. I'm not sure I'll be able to calm down until I do.
The last hour has been pure hell. Not knowing if she was all right. If she was safe.
My hands actually shake as I slam the door of my truck and race toward the door leading into the kitchen. I fling it open so hard it crashes into the wall and bounces back toward me. I'm through it before it can slam closed.
The house is completely silent. The lights are all off.
She's here though, drawing me toward her like a magnet.
"Rowan!" I shout, tearing through the rooms on the first floor at a jog.
A shuffling sound comes from upstairs. I reverse course in mid-step and head toward the stairs. I take them three at a time, praying to God I'm not too late to convince her to stay. To convince her that being with her isn't going to ruin me.
"Paradise," I whisper, my heart cracking right down the center when I catch sight of her. She's in our bedroom, sitting up in the middle of the bed. Her eyes are puffy, and her face is red. Used tissues make a pile beside her.
"Sebastian!" she cries. She jumps to her feet and practically dives off the bed, crashing into me exactly like she did that first day. And just like then, she knocks my world off its axis, completely changes everything.
I lock my arms around her, pulling her up against my body. As soon as she's in my arms, my breath comes a little easier. My heartrate settles. Energy crackles to life between us like it always does.
Her bottom lip wobbles and more tears pour down her face.
When she's happy, the emotion pours out of her. It's infectious, part of the reason everyone loves her so much. Being around her is exactly like being in paradise. It's peaceful, soothing, all that's right in the world.
When she's sad, like she is right now, that emotion seeps out into the air around her too. Tendrils spread throughout the entire room, painting everything in little scenes of heartbreak. Her sorrow dims my whole fucking world, plunging me into darkness.
"The troll knows about us," she says, her expression crumpling into abject misery. "H-he has pictures. It's all my fault."
"Baby, no," I whisper, tucking her face against my shoulder. "Don't cry."
"I can't help it!" she cries, wrapping her arms and legs around me as tight as she can. Her entire body trembles with the force of her emotions, until she's shaking like a leaf.
I suck a deep breath into my lungs and hold it, letting her sweet scent soothe the vestiges of fury still channeling through me. It's taking everything I have not to give in to the urge to go find Johnson and kill him for upsetting her like this. She's too goddamn sweet to be so sad, too perfect to be at fault for any of this. My job is to protect her and that light of hers, to always keep her smiling.
It kills me that I wasn't there to protect her from this shit today…that I didn't see it coming. I don't know what I did to make him suspicious enough to follow us today. But it had to be me. Rowan avoids the son of a bitch like he's the devil. All the teachers do.
She's blameless, innocent of any wrongdoing.
He hurt her because I didn't take good enough care of her.
That shit won't ever happen again. No one will ever corner or bully her like Johnson did today, making her doubt herself and how much light she brings into my life. She's magic and he can't fucking stand it.
"Y-you have to b-b-break up w-with me," she says, her voice muffled.
"No."
"Y-you have to."
"Why?"
"Because I c-c-can't do it!" she wails, her tears soaking into my jacket. "It's t-too sad. You have to be t-the one to d-do it."
"Baby. Paradise." Part of me wants to spank her for even suggesting it. The other part wants to kiss her for being so fucking cute. There's nothing funny about this situation, but my heart fills with lightness anyway. Because, despite what that motherfucker pulled today, she still wants me. "I'm not breaking up with you."
"P-please?" She lifts her head, sniffling. Tears tremble on her lashes and darken her beautiful doe eyes. Her glasses are smudged all to hell, so she's blinking, trying to see me through them and her tears. "Y-you have to, Sebastian. I'm g-going to r-ruin you."
"You already ruined me, little owl," I murmur, carrying her over to the bed.
She whimpers her distress and tries to wiggle out of my arms.
"Settle down," I growl, grabbing her ass to keep her still. I swipe her tissues off the bed with my other hand, and then lay her down. Before she can sit up or move away, I follow her, settling between her thighs with my body caging her in.
She wraps her legs around my hips on instinct. And even though she's miserable which makes me miserable, as soon as I feel the heat of her up against my dick, he rages to life like a champion, ready to sink into her heat. I ignore him, focusing on Rowan.
Even ravaged by tears, with mascara stains under her eyes and her nose rubbed almost raw, she's stunning. If magic had a physical form, it would be her. She's ethereal, luminous. So much honesty rests in her big doe eyes. Even with the smudges on her cat-eye glasses, the emotion brimming in those pretty eyes is unmistakable. Love, regret, sorrow, pain.