Redesigning Fate (Revive #1) - A. M. Wilson Page 0,65
blue eyes.
“Nah, she had to leave. I’ll just take whatever she ordered,” he replies without taking his eyes off me. Too busy studying me for a reaction to notice the waitress is still staring at him, I pipe in.
“He said you could put the food down, thanks,” I snap, itching to continue the Battle Royal playing out in front of me. She quickly slips the plates in front of us, turning around to head back to the swinging doors concealing the kitchen. I make quick work unraveling my silverware, then thinking it’s probably better if I’m not holding a weapon, I slam them back down to the table.
“That’s it? ‘Sorry for ruining dinner?’” I ask, air quotes and all. Continuing to gesture wildly about, I persist, “How about an apology for refusing to talk to me? For no explanations that night? How about for not calling all week or escaping off to your room like I wasn’t worth your time?” Anger is rising within me but hurt is also. Those two emotions seem to ride the fuel of one another. After suffering through months and months of Travis’s abuse, I was starting to feel like Elias was the man who could take my trust and hold it. However, in one short, ruined evening, he has me second-guessing everything.
“I told you. I’m sorry your efforts for my birthday went to waste, but I’m not sorry that I had something else to take care of. The timing sucked, but it was necessary. I can’t regret it. When I finally got back to the apartment, I was wound up, and you surprised me by being there. I wasn’t ready to talk about what happened. Not then and still not now. I’m sorry, Marlee.”
“I think you should leave. I was enjoying my morning until you came along.” Tears are prickling my eyes again, a tickle building in my throat.
“I need you to trust me. When the time is right, I’ll tell you everything that happened. For right now, I need you to believe that my absence was unavoidable. I didn’t do it to hurt you. You were an unwanted casualty, caught in the crossfire of my necessity.”
Swallowing hard, I try to debate his words in my head. I don’t want to believe him. The pain in my chest wants to tell him to go to hell, but I know that things are different with Elias. From the moment I laid eyes on him, I felt drawn to him. From our very first date, I wanted to know more about him. He saved me from being run over, held me in his arms when the anxiety got bad, protected me from the unwanted fears about Travis. He brought me to the doctor when he thought my ribs were broken. Repeatedly he’s shown me how much he cares. That’s something I’ve never really had before.
“You know my relationship track record isn’t very good, right? But I’m not ready for this to be over.” He grabs my hand, bringing my knuckles to his soft, smooth lips, brushing a light kiss against them. My eyes find his as he turns my hand over, planting another kiss on the inside of my palm. My heart surges to life, stuttering as a dark thought crosses my mind.
“Wait.” Instead of explaining, I toss the morning’s newspaper at him. “Read the article on page A6,” I instruct, once again picking up my fork to delve into my rapidly cooling scrambled eggs. Chewing a mouthful, I watch his brows furrow as he reads the paper. I’m sure he’s drawing the same conclusion from it as I did, although, I’m not sure what we should do about it.
“What are the chances it’s him?” he contemplates, drawing the same obvious conclusion.
“I think it’d be quite the coincidence if it wasn’t him. Although I never would have expected him to be capable of murder, after his recent stalking tendencies, I can’t say I have that same opinion now.”
“We have to keep you safe. You’re going to stay with me,” he remarks, his gaze not wavering from my own. His words are a challenge, a true test after the past week without each other.
Do I trust him?
I’m angry with him. I’m angry with myself for letting my emotions take me from the steady control of logic. The realization that my emotional stability has been dependent on our relationship is enough to scare me. However, the fact I can admit to myself I’m scared is a huge improvement