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“I’ll be in my room.” Diego disappeared and closed the door, leaving him facing an upset looking Erin.
The silence stretched and he realized that he’d have to be the one to break it, which he hated. He hated that he had to explain himself, and what’s more, he hated it more because he knew that he’d been wrong in leaving her.
“I’m sorry, okay?” He leaned against the opposite wall. “I couldn’t just leave her when her brother had been in a serious accident.” Why couldn’t she understand that?
She sighed and met his gaze. “I understand that. I’m not heartless. What pissed me off is that you so carelessly tossed me to the side and left me in town. It would have taken thirty seconds to quickly stop and let me out at the bottom of your parent’s lane. But as soon as she started crying on you about wanting to be alone, you went along with her.”
He’d known at the hospital that he’d blown it with Erin, but he thought she’d be okay after he’d apologized. He didn’t really think that she’d be as upset as she obviously was.
“Allie is an old friend, but you knew that already. She was upset and she was obviously upset at the thought of you being with us. I thought I was doing the right thing by getting Diego to get you from town. I did try to call you back when you walked away. I was so damn torn, but watching the ambulance pack up and about to leave I knew that I had to just go. I’m sorry, Erin.” He glanced at his brother’s room, feeling his temper simmer at the thought of her sleeping inside with Diego.
As though she read his thoughts, she admitted, “Your brother felt sorry for me and has been the good guy. Please don’t think that he had ulterior motives in offering me his room. He isn’t interested in me in that way and I’m not him…And going back to earlier, I would have expected a lot better from you. If you can’t see what Allie was doing when she knew you were with me then you’re an idiot.”
What?
“She wants you and hated the fact that I was with you, so she used what happened to her advantage and no matter what you say to the contrary, that’s the truth.”
“I don’t want to argue with you about Allie. She’s my past and I couldn’t walk away from her today, regardless of her motives.” He hadn’t thought the same as Erin had. Perhaps her waterworks had been for show. But hell, he was so tired of trying to work it out and deep down he knew that he’d wronged Erin. He should have tried harder, but he’d hoped that she would trust him.
He’d been wrong.
“You wanted me to trust you when you told me what had been going on with the whole Caprice thing and I did. I believed you and supported you with my family. You can’t trust and support me with this?”
“Different circumstances, Mateo.” She ran a hand through her hair, looking as tired as he felt.
“You’re not going to come back to our room are you?”
She met his gaze and he could see that she wanted to say yes, but instead, she said, “No. I’m leaving in the morning.”
“Fuck, Erin. Look, I screwed up and I’m fucking sorry. I was a jerk.” He paced in front of her, his hand on his head while he tried to calm down. He wasn’t angry with Erin, he was angry with himself because he knew that Erin had been right.
No matter how he looked at it, he’d still agreed to pick Allie up in the morning to take her back to the hospital.
What a fucking mess!
“Please come back to our room. I promise to keep my distance…Please.” He’d never begged for anything in his life and wished that he hadn’t needed to now.
Erin looked at him long and hard before she nodded her head. “Okay.”
He let out a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“Your beds comfier anyway.”
Pausing mid-step, he laughed and finally released the tension he’d felt from the moment he realized he’d possibly screwed up with Erin. “Whatever your reason for coming back with me, I’ll take it.”
Once they were back inside their room, Erin sat on the edge of the bed, looking unsure of herself.
She lay on her side of the bed, her back to him as he admitted, “Allie really is just an old friend. I have no interest in her in any other way but as an old friend, helping a friend in need. That’s it, Erin. Please trust me.”
She didn’t answer him or even give any indication that she’d heard him. He wanted to pull her around so she’d lo
ok at him but he knew she didn’t want his touch. With a heavy heart, he slowly stripped out of the rest of his clothes apart from his briefs and climbed under the covers.
He’d shower later because, right now, he was too damn tired and his knee throbbed with being on the go for so long. Sleep would be good, but he wondered whether that would happen as he turned to his side and watched Erin.
To his surprise, she turned over and slipped straight into his arms. “I trust you…keep me safe,” she mumbled.
His first thought was always.
