Page 30 of Shadows Within

“You’ve seen me, is that good enough now?” I throw my hands out to the side, fed up with his games.

His expression changes. There’s a shift in his eyes as he takes another step toward me. I don’t move back.

“No, Scarlett, it’s not good enough.”

I try to stay calm, but my chest rises and falls too quickly to control.What does that mean?

I silently stare at him.

“Why are you down here at one in the morning punching an old bag?” He breaks our eye contact and looks at the punching bag.

“I couldn’t sleep.” I don’t mean to tell him, but it just comes out. “You either?” I picture Callum as someone who doesn’t get lots of sleep.

“Something like that. I don’t have people waiting for me at home like you do.”

I know he isn’t trying to make me feel guilty.

“What are your parents like?” For a moment, I doubt that he’ll be honest with me.

He looks to the ground and leans against a car that sits in Dad’s shop.

“My parents?”

He takes a few seconds before he looks back at me.

“My father only knows how to take. Respect, loyalty, love… he demands them like he’s owed something from everyone. My mother… she gave up a long time ago. She sold herself to the highest bidder and called it survival. I was raised on duty and distance, not love.”

I don’t pity him. Ihurtfor him. He doesn’t hold back. Silence fills the room. I want his parents to feel pain the way that he does every day.

“You deserved better, you still do.” I shake my head with frustration, but I can’t look at him yet. I step toward the bag.

Before he has a chance to respond, I throw a punch–quick and hard. I expect him to leave but he stays in place.He shouldn’t stay.

The air thickens. I can feel him moving closer with his heavy and silent steps. His rough, steady hands stop the bag as he grabs it, mid swing.

My knuckles hit the leather, and I freeze. I can feel him against my back, and every inch of me burns like I’m on fire. I shouldn’t turn around. I’m afraid if I do, I might forget all the reasons why I should stay away from him.

I feel his warm breath against my neck.

“Nobody has ever said that to me before.”

My chest tightens.

“That I deserve better,” he adds, his voice cracks like it costs him everything. Another beat passes. He lets out a controlled breath, almost like a laugh, but he remains serious.

“My whole life, I’ve known that better wasn’t for people like me, Scarlett.”

I can’t hold back any longer. I turn and face him. My gaze is captivated by his parted lips. He moves his hand down the side of my arm and removes it quickly, like he’ll ruin me if he touches me.

I grab his hand. I let my vulnerability match his. “You’re wrong.”

I stare into his eyes and really see him. The boy who no one fought for and the man who fights for everyone.

“You don’t know that, Scarlett,” he says, as if he holds so much darkness within him.

“Then show me,” I respond, soft and daring. I’m no stranger to the darkness.

His hands trace my body up to my face.