Total pages in book: 106
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 99949 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 500(@200wpm)___ 400(@250wpm)___ 333(@300wpm)
Even as his emotional distance had widened with every second that passed, I couldn’t let him leave without making him understand the gift he’d given me. I supposed a part of me had hoped the kiss and my words of gratitude would have made something inside of him shift enough that he’d come back to me. Even if it had meant we’d just walk back to the house together, I would have been thrilled with that.
But then he’d spewed that response as if he’d been nothing more than a stranger giving me directions.
I hadn’t been able to keep up with him when he’d run. His body was so much leaner than mine that he’d been able to weave between trees much faster than I could. I’d called out to him a few times but there’d been no response. I’d slowed my pace somewhat but had still been in a hurry to get back to the house. I’d only briefly greeted Ford and Sawyer who’d been chatting by the fire pit, and I’d ignored the argument that had been going on in the living room. I hadn’t been surprised that Theo had locked his door and I’d fully expected to find that he’d locked the door from his side of the bathroom leading into his room as well. But when I’d found the bathroom door on my side locked and had heard the water running, the jumble of thoughts in my head had coalesced into just one—God, please, please don’t take him from me too.
The first thing I saw when I got the door open was the razor blade sitting on the countertop. That little shine of silver had me going right to the shower expecting to find the worst.
What I found had my blood running cold despite the scene not being the one I’d been fearing.
Theo was sitting against the shower wall in his usual position—knees up, arms cradling his body, head down. He was fully dressed with his shoes still on and there wasn’t a spot of blood anywhere. Not on him, not running down the drain, nothing.
My relief was short-lived as I realized why he was in the shower in the first place. The sound of the multiple shower nozzles, including the rain shower one above his head, helped muffle the harsh sobs that fell from the mouth he had his hand slapped over.
All the anger I’d been feeling at his abrupt departure flowed right down the drain along with the tears he was shedding. I walked into the shower and dropped to my knees in front of him, not caring about the water soaking my clothes instantly. The water wasn’t even set to warm… it was painfully cold. I quickly reached up to change the temperature on the digital display and then pulled Theo into my arms and turned our bodies so that most of the warm water was hitting him. He didn’t fight me at all. In fact, he wrapped his arms around my neck and sobbed against my shoulder. Every few moments he’d say the same word over and over.
Sorry.
All I could do was hold him.
So that was exactly what I did.
It felt like hours but considering the water was still warm, it had to have only been minutes until his sobs began to slow. His body was shaking violently against mine, so I knew the warm water wasn’t enough on its own. I reached down Theo’s back and grabbed the hem of his hoodie. I drew it up slowly. He automatically lifted his arms when the material reached his armpits. The second the fabric was free of his body, his arms were back around me. He’d finally stopped apologizing but the fact that he’d gone completely quiet made me nervous.
“Theo, baby, are you hurt?” I asked loud enough that he’d hear me over the running water. He shook his head against my shoulder. Removing the hoodie had exposed his arms but I saw only minor abrasions that were likely from tree limbs and bushes that he’d run past as he’d been trying to escape me.
“Tell me what you need, sweetheart,” I said, putting my mouth as close to his ear as I could.
He didn’t answer me. Just as I’d given up on the hope that he would, he slowly shifted in my hold. “Don’t… don’t say it again, Lincoln,” he responded as he put both his hands on my face.
In all honesty, I was completely lost. “Don’t say what?”
“That I’m strong.”
I opened my mouth to tell him there was no fucking way I was going to do that, but he cut me off with a kiss. Despite my mouth being open when he captured my lips with his, he imitated the kiss I’d given him in the woods. I could feel the plea in his touch; I could taste it.