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“Yup, it’s down. Not much we can do about it now. The camp owners will come and cut it up for firewood or something.”
“But…but…it could have killed us!”
“Lots of things can almost kill you. The point is, it didn’t. I bet they knew that no matter which way the tree fell, it couldn’t hit any of the cabins, or it would have been cut down already.”
“Who knew?”
“The lodge owners.”
“It’s right beside the cabin!”
“But it isn’t on it!”
“Argh!” I scramble across the room and snatch up my bra and panties. “I’m done. We can’t do this anymore. This is a sign—a sign from the universe.”
That gets Raiden’s attention. He shoots upright so fast that he looks like a human version of a windup toy. “What? You’re leaving?”
“Yes!”
“But you’re coming back.”
“No!”
“Come on,” he implores me. “You can’t be serious. The universe isn’t sending us a sign about anything. What does that even mean?”
“This is the third sign. The first time, your own body rebelled against us. The second time, nature intervened. This is the third time. And this time, nature wasn’t messing around. She was seriously pissed off. That poor tree!”
Raiden’s eyes become bigger than I’ve ever seen them. His brows arch, and his mouth falls open for a minute before he snaps it shut and gets a hold of himself. “That’s absolute nonsense,” he says with conviction.
“No, it isn’t! Think about it. Technically, this should never happen. We were once stepbrother and stepsister. It’s wrong. It’s just seriously wrong.”
“It’s not. Our parents weren’t married for very long, and we never thought of each other as brother and sister. Plus, we were kids then. It’s been years and years since we’ve last seen each other before we met again, and our parents haven’t been married for years and years. It isn’t wrong.”
“It is,” I insist, “because even if it isn’t for all those reasons, it’s wrong for a thousand others. All relationships just go to shit. Our parents have proved that to us more than once. I’ve been used before, and it makes me feel like garbage, but even the times I thought it was going to work out, it didn’t. What chance do we even have? You’re crazy rich, and you could date anyone you want. I’m sure even if we kept this up, sooner or later, you’d get bored and decide there are millions of better options out there, and I’d be garbage once again.”
Raiden swivels his legs off the bed and stands slowly. The cat-like grace and power in his body can’t be denied. He tucks the sheet around his waist, and the hurt that flashes across his face is unmistakable. “I’m disappointed you’d say that about me. I know we don’t know each other that well yet, but—”
“You’re going to say you were the one who got dumped, that you don’t actually have a type, and that you could never and would never get tired of me. Blah, blah, blah. I’ve heard all of it before.”
“Yeah, but those guys were assholes. This is me, Zoe. The difference between them and me is that I mean it. I’m not just trying to get in your pants. I’ve never felt this way before. Ever.”
“That’s your dick talking.”
“It’s my brain, too, since technically it controls all the blood flow to every bit of me.”
I roll my eyes and cross my arms. “Look, Raiden, I’m not saying I regret this. I’m saying it’s a good time to stop. Three clear signs are enough for me.”
“That’s just you freaking out and reading into things that aren’t meant to be read into. Sometimes, it storms, causing a tree to fall. Sometimes, bugs bite because it’s the wilderness. And sometimes, guys come too soon. It’s not a sign of anything.”
“You don’t know that!”
“I do,” Raiden sighs. “Because that’s the rational thing to think. Looking for random signs is irrational.”
“But knowing for a fact that like ninety percent of relationships go to complete poop isn’t.”
“So that’s what this is really about. You’re panicking about getting hurt before it even happens. I’m not like those other guys, and I know you can’t just take my word for it because you shouldn’t. But I also know if you gave me a chance, I’d prove to you I’m not.”
“No. Raiden…just no.” I shake my head vehemently. I wish he knew how much this hurts. It feels a little bit like someone just jammed a rusty butter knife into my chest. Butter knives aren’t exactly sharp either, so the sucker would really hurt going in. The rust is just for good measure. “I…I can’t. I just can’t. I didn’t plan on this. It just happened, but I could have stopped it from happening. I should have had more self-control, and I take full responsibility for my actions. I’m not saying it wasn’t good, but I have to be realistic.”
