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“You don’t know that.”
“I met him, and he brought you up.” My throat goes dry at the memory. “He would have gone for you, Kat.”
She shakes her head in disbelief.
“If I lose you, I have nothing!” The words are ripped from my throat, desperate for her to see what I’ve been seeing. To feel what I’ve been feeling, complete and utter loss. I calm my voice and take a step closer to her then say, “If he killed you, I would have nothing to live for.”
She stares into my eyes with a look I can’t quite read and whispers, “I’d rather die beside you than live without you.”
“I would kill myself if anyone hurt you because of me. I don’t know how you can’t see that.” She appraises me for a moment, her shoulders rising and falling with soft breaths. “I promise it’s almost over. I promise you Kat, I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t have to.”
“You should have known better than to keep it from me. What if you had died?” she asks me, and I can’t answer rightaway. I’d never considered it. “What if he killed you? I would have never known.”
“My only thought was to keep you safe; I wasn’t concerned with anything else.
“If you do what I say, we can still be together,” I tell her and the reaction I get is nothing like what I’d planned. She’s not at all moved by my confession. She can’t tell a soul or let on that we’re together. “If we’re together,” I say then stop midsentence, afraid that we’re not. Afraid that it’s too late.
“You don’t control me anymore.” Although her words are spoken easily, and she seems to understand everything, her walls are still high, guarding her from me.
“Kat, I love you, but I will lock you in a fucking room to keep you safe. If you don’t listen to me, then you leave me with no choice. I swear to God I will.”
Smack!
My face burns with a stinging sensation as the sound rings in the air. My lungs halt as my eyes widen, taking in the vision of a pissed-off Kat in front of me with her hand still raised. My hand slowly rises to my jaw.
I’ve never seen Kat strike a person in my life. She’s not a violent person by nature.
But I guess I had it coming to me.
“Don’t you dare tell me that you love me.”
I don’t fucking hesitate to respond, “I love you more than anything, and I’ll never deny it. I’ll tell you every single day for the rest of my life.” Even with my jaw stinging from the impact.
“I can keep a secret too. You could have told me. You didn’t have to put me through this with everything else I’m dealing with.”
“One slip is all it will take. If anyone even thinks we’re back together … that’s all it would take.”
“Well, you told me now,” she states with finality and I take her hand in mine, forcing it up so she can see.
“Because you took off your ring,” I tell her, not holding back the pain it caused. “Because you kissed someone else.” Her fight vanishes, not all at once, but slowly as both of us breathe heavily, the air between us growing hotter. “Because I thought I was losing you forever.”
“You left me with no choice,” she says although a look of regret flashes in her eyes.
“I didn’t have one either. You have to believe me.”
“You really love me?”
“I do. You must know it’s true. I know you do.”
“You want to be with me? You want to keep me yours?” she asks, completely serious as if there’s any other option for me.
“Yes, it’s all I want. And to keep you safe.”
“Evan.” She utters my name softly but as it rings through the air, I hear the threat that comes with it. Her eyes pierce through me as she stares back at me.
“You’ll come back to me, every night. Every fucking night. You’ll message me back every time I text you.”
“I can’t text you back from my phone.” Her eyes narrow and I’m quick to come up with a solution as I offer, “But I can get another.”