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At night, I sleep in the hall to be closer to her. I look pathetic, but I don’t care. I’m not budging ‘till she comes out of that room and confronts me.
In the early hours of the morning, I hear the floorboards creak. I’m instantly awake, jumping to my feet. My heart is in my throat with my pulse pounding in my ears.
God, if you’re real, please let my angel walk out of that room and give me a chance to explain myself.
The door slowly opens. I damn near cry with gratitude. “Gorgeous.”
Opal blinks, probably surprised to find me outside the door at four in the morning. She’s wearing an oversized sweatshirt withNavywritten on it—no doubt belonging to one of my brothers in the room. Her hair is a wild mess, her eyes are swollen from crying, and her lips are chapped. But to me, she’s a sight for my sore eyes.
We stare at each other in strained silence. Her bottom lip trembles. I can see a tear leak out of the corner of one of her pale blue eyes.
“Don’t cry, baby,” I murmur, stepping forward. I force myself to stop, aware that I may make her uncomfortable. “Is there something I can get you? Are you hungry? I noticed you didn’t eat any of the food Red brought you. I could make you something.”
Opal gnaws on her bottom lip, looking anywhere but at me. “I—I need to use the bathroom.”
“Okay.” I step out of the doorway to let her pass. Opal is extra careful not to touch me as she squeezes by me in the narrow hallway. She locks herself away in the bathroom, closing me out. I want to beat my head against a wall as I wait.
I need to do better. Convince her to hear me out.
The toilet flushes before the sink runs.
Think, you idiot. What’s going to make her pause?
Opal emerges from the bathroom.
Words erupt from me like Mentos in a can of Diet Coke. “Ididn’tsleepwithCandy!”
Surprised, her eyes widen before narrowing. “I saw you together. Stop playing me for a fool.”
Not the direction I want this conversation to be going. But I got her talking, so I’ll roll with it.
“It was staged, all of it. I locked us in the room to make you think I was doing the unimaginable. Candy was furious that I got her involved without asking her. She only kept quiet because she feared her position in the club would be compromised if word got around that she was involved in our breakup. In fact, she wanted me to work things out with you. I never slept with her. I swear.”
Opal sputters. “Why would you do that?”
“To hurt you,” I admit.
“Well, mission accomplished.”
Opal tries to side-step me, but I move in her path, unable to let her slip past before I attempt to clear the air. A gentleman would let her escape, but I’m taking a page out of Atlas’s book and standing my ground. Asshole move, I know. Yet, I can’t argue with its results.
“That came out wrong. I wanted to hurt you, so you’d realize I’m no good for you, that you deserve better in a partner than a sick fuck like me. When I told you that you couldn’t give me what I wanted, it was a lie. You’ve given me more than I could dare to dream about. And I’m not talking just the sex, which is the best I’ve ever had, by the way. I’m talking about how you make me think about a future with you.”
Opal shakes her head with her brows pulled together. She doesn’t believe me.
“I’m serious, Opal. I did it to give you a chance with someone better than me.”
“But why would you lie and hurt me if you wanted the best for me? It doesn’t make sense.”
And this is the crux of the matter.
“Can we talk someplace else, away from here? I promise to explain everything, I…I want to do this in private. You deserve to have a thorough explanation, and I’ll be able to do that if we’re alone.”
Opal looks torn between wanting to understand and staying put for self-preservation.
“If you need time, I can wait. I’ll wait forever and won’t rush you. I’m sure this is incredibly confusing.”
She peeks at me through puffy, red-rimmed eyes. “Where would we go?”
