You’re being ridiculous
Why do you turn everything into a drama?!
Stop being a bitch and get your fat arse back to this house!
My heart stops when I see Connor’s reply.
Me
I’m on my way
Shit.Frantically, I dial Connor’s number, but just as it starts to ring, I hear keys jingle at the front door. Connor walks in, running a hand through his hair, and stops when he sees me. We just look at each other, the tension palpable. I scan him for any sign of foul play, and he scans me looking for God-knows-what. Eventually, he breaks the silence.
“Nice outfit.” He isn’t smiling, but he isn’t frowning either. I can’t tell if he’s annoyed.
“Sorry, I didn’t have anything clean to put on. Do you want me to take them off?” I start to remove the jacket, but he steps forward and reaches for my arm, stopping me.
“No, don’t do that.”
I look down at the hand holding on to my wrist and gasp when I see his bloodied knuckles.
“Connor…”
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” he says dismissively and continues to stroke his thumb along the inside of my arm.
“Where have you been?” I already know, but I want to hear it from him.
“I went to get your stuff. It’s all in the car. I’ll bring it in later. You look good in these,” he adds huskily, looking me over again. “Maybe I won’t bring in your clothes, then you’ll have to wear mine all the time.”
“You don’t mind, then?” I ask, relieved.
“Mind?” he asks as if it’s the most ridiculous thing in the world. “Why would I mind?”
“Rhys hates it when I wear his clothes. He says I stretch them out.”
Connor closes his eyes and his grip on my arm tightens slightly as he takes a breath. “Well, you’re not going to be wearing his clothes anymore, right? Only mine.” He straightens my – his – hoodie around my shoulders and adjusts my hair.
“What happened?” I ask. He knows what I mean.
“Your phone went off when you were asleep, so I picked it up to mute it so it didn’t disturb you. But when I saw you had a message from Rhys, I had to look. I saw what he’d written and was furious that he’d speak to you that way. So I went over to tell him to back off. He wanted to know where you were and started spouting off some bullshit about you, so I hit him. Hard.”
Anguish escapes my throat in a gasp. “Oh my God.” I clutch Connor’s hand, gently inspecting his knuckles. There’s a certain release in realising I don’t care if Rhys is hurt, but knowing that Connor’s injured because of me physically hurts.
“Anyway,” Connor continues far too casually, “he stormed out, so I thought I’d pack all of your things together so you wouldn’t have to go back and see him.” He seems to hold his breath while he waits for my response.
“I’m so sorry,” I say, backing away. Connor’s fingers fall away from my hair, and a look of confusion passes over his face.
“You’re sorry?” he asks. “What the hell for?”
“I dragged you back into this. You had your life back without me, and now I turn up, and I’ve ruined everything for you again, just like he said I would. I’m so sorry, Connor. I’ll leave.” I try to pass him to get to the front door, but he puts an arm around my waist to stop me.
“Hold on,” he says, pulling me so I’m facing him again. “Is that why you cut me off? Because Rhys convinced you I’d be happier without you in my life?”
“Well, it’s true! I’ve only been back in your life for a couple of hours and already you’ve had to skip work to look after me and you’ve assaulted someone! This is all my fault.”
You should have walked into that road when you had the chance.
“Til, I’ve been fucking miserable every single day since you went back to him. You’re not ruining anything for me – you’re making everything better. Listen to me carefully because I need you to understand this: I want you here. I want you in my life, and I want to look after you. Don’t ever think I would be better off without you because I wouldn’t. I don’t think I’d survive if you cut me out again.”
