Page 102 of Kings Don't Break

“We both have a lot on our plates right now.”

“We’ve been making it work.”

My head shakes, my hands nervously gripping my kneecaps. “It’s become too much, Blake. For us to be together like this. I tried to warn you I wasn’t ready for anything.”

He husks out a quick laugh, then raises a brow at me. “You’re serious? It’s another month and a half ’til April Fools.”

“This isn’t a joke. And, yeah, I’m being serious.”

“You can’t be. ’Cuz then you’d realize you make no damn sense.”

“Blake, we’re taking a break,” I say firmly. “I need time to figure out my situation. Time to create a stable life for myself and Mama. Things between us have been moving too fast. Now you have your legal troubles?—”

“Who got to you?” he asks.

“This is my own decision.”

“I wasn’t born yesterday, Kori. You forget I can tell when you’re keeping things from me?”

“You’re not going to change my mind,” I say, standing up. I turn toward the door. “I need a break, Blake… and that’s final.”

“Bullshit.”

I scowl at him from over my shoulder. “It doesn’t matter if you think it is. My mind’s made up.”

“You always do this. You always run when it gets tough. You did it then and you’re doing it now. I hoped you’d grown from that.”

“Excuse me!? You’ve got to be kidding me because that’s NOT what happened, Blake!” I’ve stopped halfway to the door and spun around from sheer outrage. “I left because high school was over! It was over, and I didn’t want to get trapped in Pulsboro for the rest of my life refusing to grow up! I didn’t want to spend every night getting drunk at the ravine and sleeping in ’til noon like you and the others. I wanted to go to college and make something of myself! If I stayed here… I would’ve… I’d have been married and pregnant by the time I was twenty-one!”

“By who? Me?”

Who else?!

“It doesn’t matter,” I snap. “It’s not what I wanted.”

Blake takes a step toward me. “I would’ve taken care of you if that happened.”

“I didn’t say you wouldn’t. But I wanted to go to college.”

“Wheaton U is forty minutes away.”

“What’s your point?” I fold my arms.

His blue eyes thin into slits. “Nobody was stopping you from college! I wanted that for you! But you chose just about the farthest fucking university in the state you could! You were hours away and you dropped me and everybody else like a bad habit! You cut us out of your life and for what, Kori? You wound up married young anyway! The difference is, you chose a piece of shit who beat your ass!”

“Don’t you dare try to judge my choices!” I yell. The volume of my voice, the raw emotion etched into the loud sound, startles even me. “I didn’t know Ken would be… that he would… I never would’ve?—”

“BUT HE DID!” he barks. “He did do those things! That man almost destroyed you and you wanna do what you did last time? Walk away so he can find a way to force himself into your life again? And don’t tell me he won’t, ’cuz he will! That man ain’t giving up—and the moment you’re alone, he’s gonna force you back with him! Is that what you want? Why haven’t you figured out we’re stronger when we stick together?!”

I’ve fallen silent, my frantic heart beating out of sync.

So has Blake. His ferocity still thickens the air around us. His golden hair long and untamed about his shoulders, his handsome face tightened by tension, he resembles a male lion on the attack.

But it’s his eyes that are most affecting—they bore into mine and make me feel like there’s no more hiding. No more lies, charades, pretending to be done with him. I can’t act as if things are over between us.

This is only the beginning.

We solidify as much in the next second. In a burst of energy, unable to yell and scream any longer, I throw myself at him. He shoots forward and collides with me. His fingers slide into my short crop of hair and he yanks my face toward his.