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“There’s always more than one way to lose someone.”
My heart quivered.
“She was saying it to comfort Lisette and me. We were so… upset by what was happening.” He closed his eyes. “They knew we were there. Hiding was such a stupid idea.”
“They were trying to keep you safe.”
He shook his head. “By hiding secrets. By keeping us in the dark. By putting us on a mountain where we didn’t have anyone to help us.”
“And then you stayed on the mountain.” I lowered my scone to the plate, suddenly losing my appetite. “Because that was all you knew.”
“I thought I was doing the right thing, Rose.”
I nodded. “I understand.”
“But I wasn’t. Forcing myself to stay away from my own kind got me into more trouble than I could have ever anticipated.”
“You’re not alone anymore, Matty. You’re here with me.”
The small smile that appeared gave me hope.
“And I almost died for you. That should mean something, right?”
The smile died.
So much for that.
He huffed. “You didn’t have to stick by me. You could have run.”
“Yes, I could have run. I could have ditched you.”
“If it was such an appealing choice, then why didn’t you do it?”
I glared at him. “Because I love you, asshole. That’s why.”
His expression went blank.
“Did you really think I was going to ditch you and leave you to handle those vampires on your own?”
“I could have handled them just fine.”
I shrugged. “So? Does that mean I should always leave you?”
“You’re always protecting me. You need to protect yourself.”
“Are you really doing this to me right now?”
He stared at me. “What?”
“The whole macho man thing. The whole paranoid thing. The wholetoo damagedthing. You think I’m going to fall for that?”
“I didn’t say—”
I snorted, half-amused and half-annoyed. “Every time the pressure sets in, you try to shove me away as if that’s going to protect my feelings—orme.”
He went quiet, eyes glossing over with the temper that I knew would soon come to a boil. I didn’t care. I wanted to see him angry.
I was angry enough for both of us. “When you pull this act, it just tells me more about who you are than who I am.”
