Page 133 of Unapologetic Obsession

My head tilted when I heard her soft sobs drifting from the other side of the roof. It was an annoying sound, though it triggered my brother’s voice in my mind.

Save her, Caden.

Talk to her, Caden.

She needs your help, Caden.

Ugh! Stupid brother with his stupid savior complex. If I didn’t save her, his voice would annoy me while I drowned. Plus, I sort of owed him a life, considering the whole letting our mother die thing.

Muttering some colorful cuss words under my breath, I marched across the roof. This wasn’t how I had planned on spending my afternoon. I longingly stared at the blue water below. It could have been done and over with by now.

For the first time in my life, I decided to be a good brother and do something Damon would want—save a life. Unfortunately, I wasn’t capable of achieving such a thing and wondered if there was a way to tip the scales in my favor.

The kid’s long, wild hair blew in the wind. Before I could reach her, something fell out of the pocket of her hoodie. I thought it would tumble down to the water. By some miracle, it landed on the ledge instead. Crouching down, I picked up the earrings that fell out of her pocket—blue diamond studs.

Hm. If all else failed, perhaps I could bribe her into coming off the ledge. I could buy her blue diamond earrings ten times the size if she didn’t jump. It wasn’t like I had a lot of other great ideas in my arsenal. The likelihood that I’d say something to push her over the edge was much higher.

Malfunctioning, remember?

This wasn’t me feeling sorry for myself, but, rather, I was stating a fact of life. The only way I wouldn’t be defective was if I actually made enough of a connection to talk her out of it.

All I had to achieve was one human connection to know that my wiring wasn’t so faulty that I needed to end things. If I managed to talk her down, Damon would be fine in Switzerland with me because it meant I could talk him down, too.

Everything hung in the balance of this moment. Here goes all or nothing.

Chapter

Forty-Three

CADEN

Present

Rose stared at me,face flushed, eyes wide.

“The diamonds on your glasses,” Rose said. “You took those out of my earrings, didn’t you?”

I didn’t deny it. Shortly after I had talked her down the ledge, a security guard had roamed up to the roof. Startled, Rose had bolted before I could get her name or return her earrings. I had walked through the hospital suites a few times, but I never saw her again. The earrings were the only thing she had left behind. The only proof that I had made a connection. “I wanted a souvenir.”

She bristled. “Only a serial killer would say that. My mom was pissed that I lost them. She had just gotten them for me.”

“I believe I’ve done a good job of replacing them.” My gaze flicked to the giant blue diamonds in her ears.

She was quiet for a few moments.

Her eyes were glossy when she spoke again. “You do know that I am notheranymore. I’m a totally different person than the old Rose.”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Of course it does. She had an entirely different personality. You fell in love with the old Rose, not me.”

“You could be half monkey, and I’d still love you.”

She smiled. Perhaps she remembered the first day of classes when I compared my students to monkeys. Actually, I believe I had said the monkeys were superior.

She shook her head in disbelief. “What is it that you like about me?”

“I like the way you breathe.”