Shattered Rose (Winsor Series) - By T L Gray Page 0,66
me. He was consuming me, just like before. I tried to make sense of him, why he was so mysterious. How he could turn it on and off so quickly and effectively. He seemed to need me, to want me, but yet he was gone…again.
The hours in the lab drug on forever, but finally my time was up and I trudged back to the apartment feeling just as defeated as I had earlier. I approached the building and immediately noticed that Danny was sitting on the top step near our landing. My heart constricted for a minute. He looked just as miserable as I felt.
I sat down next to him and patted his leg. “You doing ok?”
He let out a heavy sigh and looked out over the lake. “Not really,” he admitted. “Did she say anything to you?” He turned to me, his eyes almost hopeful. I didn’t know what to say. How could I tell him it was all just in his head and Issy felt nothing for him but irritation?
“She just mentioned that you two weren’t seeing each other anymore,” I lied.
He shook his head and then ran both of his hands up through his hair, leaving it standing straight up. “It makes no sense. Things were amazing. I mean, more than amazing, and one morning she was gone, and that was it.”
I didn’t know what to say so I just ran my hand along his back to attempt to comfort him.
He sent me a weak smile and then continued, “Its my own fault. I mean she told me the first night that she didn’t do serious. I didn’t care at the time. I mean, being around her is intoxicating and in the midst of it, you don’t even think about the hangover. Then she just kept saying yes when I’d ask her to do things and when things between us got physical, I just assumed we were on the same page.” He grabbed his hair in frustration. “One stupid word!”
Watching Danny was like watching myself through a different lens. I had thought the same thing, so sure Jake was my forever.
“Danny, I know this wont make you feel better, but I don’t think that one word changed anything. It may have sped it up a little, but in the end, Issy is Issy.”
“So it’s really over? She wont change her mind?” he asked sadly as if realizing it for the first time.
“Well, I wouldn’t dare to ever guess what’s going on in Issy’s mind, but chances are more likely that she wont.”
He let out another sigh and then stood up. I followed suit and he squeezed my arm before ascending the stairs to his floor. The defeated way he walked matched my own as I unlocked my apartment and slid into bed. I felt too depressed to cry…just wanted to sleep.
It was six o’clock on a Friday night, and I was still lying in my bed. It was pitiful, and I was at my wits end with it. I got up, determined to be a stronger person, a better person. I made my bed and threw on some decent clothes. I would go into Asheville and walk the gallery strip, knowing that I would feel better tomorrow.
My mind lingered on the closet. I still had food in there. It would be so easy. Issy was gone until tomorrow, and no one would ever know. I looked at the calendar. It had been six days, the longest I had gone since breaking up with Jake. I took a breath, and pushed the thought out of my head. No! I was not going to do it!
I grabbed my coat, determined to escape the temptation and almost ran right into Parker, who was about to knock on the front door.
“Hey!” he said, obviously surprised to see me in such a rush. “I was worried about you. I thought you were going to meet me?”
I backtracked into the apartment, feeling more uncomfortable around him than I ever had before. I turned and set down my coat, trying to stop my hands from fidgeting with my shirt.
“Yeah, sorry about that. I just wasn’t up for studying today,” I lied, still not making eye contact with him.
I heard him shut the door and walk towards me. “Your place is great. No wonder everyone fights for these apartments. Its twice the size as mine.” He put his hands on my arms and I jumped, heading right into the kitchen.