I shake my head. “I can’t keep putting it off. I need to figure out what the problem is. Maybe if I try to just be calm and open with him, he’ll do the same.”
I’m sure my logic is flawed, but it’s all I’ve got. I have to dosomething.
After giving me a quick squeeze, Jasper lets go of me, then takes a step back. “I’ll be here if you need me.”
“I know.” I raise up on my tiptoes and purse my lips.
Jasper kisses me softly, then he brushes his nose over mine.
With another quick kiss, Jasper squeezes my arms, then steps past me and walks into our bedroom.
I sigh, steeling myself, and walk to Salem’s bedroom door.
He has it pulled shut, so I hesitate for a second, fist hovering over it. Finally, I knock.
“What?” he calls from inside.
“Can I come talk to you?”
The door creaks open, and Salem peaks his head around it. “Fine.”
His eyes are red and swollen, and my heart clenches. I wish he’d just fucking open up to me. Our relationship has never been like this before, and I don’t know what to do. I don’t know how to fix it. I don’t even know how to get him to feel safe talking to me.
“Make it quick,” he says, frustration in his voice.
I step inside, then close the door behind me. It’s clean in here. Pristine, really. His bed is made perfectly, aside from the top corner where the comforter is a little folded back, and the top of his dresser is organized with the few things he actually let us buy for him.
I sigh. “I don’t want to do this, but I have to. We need to figure out what’s going on and get to the bottom of things.”
His eyebrows scrunch together. “The bottom of things?”
“Yes. You’ve been… testy ever since you got here. You snap at me. You’re mean to Nora—”
“I’mnot!” he says, cutting me off.
Frustration wells up inside me. I’m truly almost at the limit of what I can take. “Youare.”
Something flashes in his eyes. “Maybe I’m just sick and fucking tired of you trying to control me.”
It takes all my strength not to roll my eyes. “I’m not trying to control you, Salem.”
“Sure fucking feels like it.” He sets his jaw, his hands clenched at his sides. This is going off the rails faster than I thought it would.
I force a deep breath into my lungs. “I’m not trying to control you, Salem. I’m trying to parent you. There’s a difference.”
He scoffs, his eyes rolling back in his head. “Right. There’s a difference,” he repeats, mocking my tone. “Really? Because it feels the exact same.”
My chest tightens. “Yeah, because—”
“Because you’re the fucking boss of me,” he snaps. “Iknow.”
“If you know,” I grit out, running a hand through my hair in frustration, “then why are you giving me such a hard time? I thought this is what youwanted.I thought youwantedto come live with me. I’ve been fighting my fucking ass off for ayeartrying to get you home, Salem. A fucking year.”
His face does something complicated, and he takes a step away from me like my words physically hit him. “I did want to live with you, but now we live with Jasper.”
That stops me cold. “You don’t like Jasper?”
He shakes his head. “I didn’t say that. Don’t put words in my mouth.God.”
