I carry Cecilia outside, ignoring the weight of Holt’s gaze on my back as I head straight for my bike. The evening breeze whips around us and sends goosebumps along my skin. Cecilia’s got to be cold.
Setting her on her feet, I cup her face in my hands and force her dark brown gaze up to mine.
“Cecilia?” Tears well up in her eyes. I thumb the moisture away, stroking her cheeks. “I’ve got you,” I tell her. “I’ve got you.” Pulling her into my embrace, I give her what little comfort I can before reminding myself that we need to get out of here.
Tugging my helmet onto her head, I buckle the chin strap and help her onto the back of my bike. She’s still a little out of it, but she’s responding to my directions, even if it isn’t with words.
“Don’t let go,” I tell her as I pull her arms snugly around my waist. Her tiny hands curl into the material of my shirt, and I kick myself for not remembering to grab my coat on my way out. She’s going to freeze to death on the ride home. In that dress—shit.
I still can’t wrap my head around seeing her out like this. And on a date.
There's a whole mess of feelings swirling around my head, but anger is the one punching hardest through the noise.
She’s out with some random guy when it’s only been a handful of weeks since she broke things off. What the hell is going on? Does she want a relationship now?
Jesus—fuck.
Is she seriously considering being with someone who isn't me?
Just the thought of her with another guy, letting him touch her. It's like a volcano erupting inside me. I can't wrap my head around why she would do this to me.To us.
18CECILIA
Gabriel's entrance into his house is like a sudden clap of thunder, his voice a crackling lightning bolt of fury. "What the hell were you thinking?" he snaps, barely allowing me a moment to breathe.
“Why are we here?” I counter, looking around the room. “Why didn’t you take me home?” The remnants of my panic dissipated on the ride over to be replaced by a potent cocktail of equal parts humiliation and irritation.
I feel exposed, vulnerable, as if every wall I've carefully built around myself has crumbled to dust.
I can’t believe I completely locked down like that.
I was making progress. Things were getting better.
Dammit.
One look at Austin in that house, and suddenly, I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. If I’m honest, I was losing my shit even before that. Seeing him just made things worse.
When fear hits you like that, you’re supposed to go into fight or flight. But all I did was freeze, and he watched me. Wordlessly drinking his beer like I was his favorite fucking show.
Gabriel bares his teeth at me, his body vibrating with anger as the door slams behind him.
I jump, and he immediately curses.
“Fuck. I’m sorry.” He huffs out a breath and visibly pulls himself together, reining in some of his anger.
“Why are we here?” I repeat the question, my words echoing in the tension-laden air.
Gabriel's gaze bores into me, stripping away any semblance of defensiveness. His silence is a palpable force, pressing down on me like a suffocating weight.
"Gabriel?" I prompt again, my voice laced with uncertainty.
"Because you’re being reckless," he finally responds, his tone edged with frustration. "And obviously need somebody to talk some sense into you. What the hell were you thinking going to Zeta Pi tonight? Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?"
My spine stiffens, my breath catching in my throat. "Of course I know what can happen," I retort, my voice rising in defiance. "It’s already happened before!"
"Then why were you there?" he shouts back, his voice cutting through the air like a blade. This isn't the Gabriel I know, the one who never raises his voice, never loses cool.
Not with me.
