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“Yes, for sure. I’ll tell him,” I manage to say. But I have no intention of doing that. None at all.

Seventeen

Trent

As soon as I hear her walk in the door, I can fucking tell something’s not right. “Kitty Kat. You good?”

I hear her drop her purse and kick off her sandals. “Yeah. Fine.”

“Where’d you go?”

“Just out. Needed some things.Girlthings.”

Bullshit.I cross my arms and wait for her to walk into the kitchen. She walks in with her eyes down, looking pissy. But otherwise impossible for me to read.

I figure I’ve got two options here. Push her for details, or let her come to me. Fuck knows I pushed her enough in the last twenty-four hours; maybe she’s just fucking exhausted. After all, I did give her the ride of her fucking life last night.

“My buddy, Luke, he’s coming over for dinner.”

She shoots a glance at me, and whatever that is in her eyes,it’s not great. “Oh, I see. And what, you’re planning on having me cook?”

What the fuck is this sassy bullshit. I narrow my eyes at her but she’s already turned away. “Did I say that?”

She flings open the giant refrigerator and starts rummaging. “You didn’t have to. You said he’s coming to dinner. So, what are you going to feed him? MREs? Going to go outside and make a fire and eat brown slop together like you’re deployed again? You miss it that much?”

Hang on a fucking minute. “What’s the matter with you?”

I study the tension in her shoulders, the set of her teeth. I know her quirks like no other. When it comes to her, I’ve got a sixth sense. And this has fuck all to do with making dinner or the possibility of me deploying again in some hypothetical future.

I put my hand on the small of her back, grab the waist of her dress, and pull her away from the fridge. I turn her around in my arms, but her eyes are locked down. “Look at me, baby girl.” Her nostrils flare—annoyed, angry. “You can fight me all you want but you know you’re going to tell me.”

She purses her lips and I know she’s just getting more pissed. The way I can read her has annoyed her since we were little. I know that sometimes she just wants to be mad, to hold on to the fire. But I’ve always tried to put out the blaze before it got too big for her to handle.

I tip her chin up so she’s look at me finally. “Say it.”

Teeth set, lips pursed. “I don’t know. Just you. And me. And this house. And,” her eyes dart, looking around for Edward, “last night. I don’t want to get attached to you just to have you leave again in two months, Trent. I can’t have my heart broken like that.”

NowI’m fucking getting it. Edward talking about redeployment, her panicking. And just like that, I’m up to speed. “Look at me right fucking now, Kitty Kat.”

She shakes her head. “I don’t always want to tell you everything, Trent. It’s bad enough you try to fix everything for me. Why don’t you go fix someone else for a change? I can take care of myself. Just leave me alone, okay?” She steps away, wriggling free of my grip. “You live your life and I’ll live mine.”

Her words bite into me way fucking harder than I expected. Like I’ve been shot all over again. The last thing I want to do, the last thing I will ever do, isleave her alone.But, I see the little girl inside her.

“Where thefuckis all this coming from? If it’s about me deploying, we’ll talk about that. Together. But if it’s some other shit that you aren’t saying, I’m not in the mood to guess. So just fucking tell me.”

Her eyes finally meet mine, wide and shocked.

“No… Yes.” She presses her hands into little fists and claps her eyes shut. “No… I don’t know. Just leave me alone. Okay?Please?”she says, and stomps out of the kitchen. Like a fucking spoiled little shit.

What thehellwasthat?

I’m so pissed, so floored, that I’m about to take off after her. But then I hear the sound of her footsteps on the stairs and it snaps me back to reality. She’s mine, yeah. My soulmate, my everything.

She needs to breathe. I’ll let her for now.

I fuckingguess.

I’ll let her have her little tantrum, I tell myself, as I open a beer. But then she’s gonna learn that with tantrums come consequences.