“You ready?” He strode into the bedroom.
He’d taken to not quite looking at me, and that was pissing me off too.
I scowled, snatched up my cell, and shoved past him. I heard him follow as I marched into the living room and grabbed my favorite pair of work sneakers off the shoe rack by the door.
“Ery?”
Afraid I was seconds from exploding, I ignored him. Instead, I pulled on my shoes and then grabbed my purse from the dining table.
“Ery?” Arran came into my line of sight.
I glowered up at him as he frowned down at me. “Oh, so now you want to talk? Now you want to make eye contact?”
Arran blanched and looked away.
Fear made my pulse race. “What is going on? You’ve barely said a word to me all week, locked up inside your own head.”
“You’ve been quiet too.”
“But not in the shutting-you-out kind of way. I’m not the one who tenses every time you touch me.” It was true. The last few days, he’d pulled away from my touch, and I hated how much that hurt.
Scrubbing a hand down his face, he sighed, like this entire conversation was trying his patience. “Can we talk about this after work?”
“No, I want to talk about it right now. What the hell is going on with you?”
Finally, he looked me in the eye.
But his expression made me feel cold.
A lot roiled in his gaze, but the guilt scared me. I’d had boyfriends wear that look right before they broke things off.
I felt sick.
“I think …” The muscle in his jaw ticked as he hesitated. But then, “I think we should put some distance between us. Just while all this is going on. That way, whoever this is who’s harassing me will think you mean nothing to me anymore. You’ll be safe.”
He couldn’t be serious. “You want to break up with me … to save me?”
“Exactly.”
“And what happens when we find this person and it’s all over? Do we just get back together and pretend like it never happened?”
Arran stared grimly at me but didn’t respond.
Oh.
A horrible pain cut through me, flaring into a burn below my breastbone. I wanted to rub the spot, to ease the sensation. But I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much this hurt.
The whole stalker thing was just an excuse to break up.
He wasn’t man enough to tell me that this was permanent.
I wanted to ask why. Why really?
Had he grown bored already?
Was he really just a player, after all, not cut out to be someone’s boyfriend?
“I want you to move in with Robyn and Lachlan or Mac and Arro. Just until we figure out this situation. I don’t want you alone here.”
I was alone here. He’d made certain of that. And I stupidly allowed myself to depend on him. I’d let myself get used to his presence.
“I’ve already stayed with Robyn and Lachlan because of this stuff in the past, and I won’t be a burden to them again.”
“You’re not a burden,” Arran insisted, aggravated.
Fuck him and his aggravation. “I’m tired of running. Of hiding. I’m staying here. If you want to use this as a pathetic excuse to get out of this relationship, you do that. But I’m going to continue to live my life.”
His nostrils flared. “Pathetic excuse? That’s not what this is. I’m trying to protect you. Even if that means protecting you from me.”
What did that mean? I narrowed my eyes. “I don’t even know what’s going on in your head right now. Do you want to clue me in?”
He shrugged. “I just told you.”
“Okay. Well, that’s bullshit, and I thought we were past this. If you want to leave, Arran, leave. But never come back.”
I thought something like anxiety flashed across his face. “Ery—”
“You heard me.” I grabbed my purse and keys and strode across the room, my heart hammering. “Stay. Or get your stuff together and get out of my life. For good.” I slammed the door behind me and hurried down the porch to my car.
I peeled out like I was in a car chase, and it was only once I was on the road that I let the tears fall.
They fell so hard, I had to pull over.
35
ARRAN
“If you want to leave, Arran, leave. But never come back.”
Eredine’s words pounded in my head over and over as I sat in Lachlan’s kitchen, nursing the beer my eldest brother had set before me.
I kept trying to tell myself that this was for the best and that once all this was over, I could convince Ery to give me another chance.
If I was worthy of another chance.
If I could learn to be less selfish and think before I took what I wanted.
My gut churned, and the beer didn’t help, but still, I swallowed another sip.
Arro and Mac had promised they’d go to Ery’s and convince her to stay with them for now. Arro said she would text to let me know once they had her home with them, safe and sound, but I hadn’t heard anything yet.