AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“I trust you,” she says.
Not what I was looking for but not a bad thing.
“Maybe you should talk to someone.”
Brushing my hand off her, she goes back to work on my injured arm.
“I’ll be fine. I just need some time.”
“You can always talk to me if you need too. You know that, right?”
She nods but refuses to look at me.
I’m desperate to know what’s going on in that head of hers. There’s something else there, something besides the fear he instilled in her when he attacked her.
“What is it, princess?”
She stops and looks up at the ceiling, letting out a heavy sigh.
“I feel guilty.”
“For what? You didn’t do anything wrong.”
“I don’t know. Like I was unfaithful to you or something. It’s stupid, but I can’t help it.” She walks away from me and looks out the window.
Stepping behind her, I rest a hand on her waist, her back pressed to my front.
“What he did to you, it was wrong, so wrong. But you, Lexie, you’re the victim. You didn’t do anything to ask for it, and you sure as hell shouldn’t feel bad about anything. If it helps, I don’t blame you for any of it, nor does it make me look at you differently. You are still the strong, amazing woman I met a few months ago.”
She turns in my arms, and it kills me to see the tears rolling down her cheeks.
“I can still feel him, taste him. It’s like he stole the memory of you away from me and replaced it with…”
I don’t know if it’s the right thing to do or not, but I kiss her. Gently press my lips against hers, I wait to see if or how she responds. Her mouth opens slightly, allowing me further access. I keep the kiss slow and soft, hoping to erase the memory of him.
She pushes back, breathless, “Carter…”
I caress her cheek. “I know but friends help each other out. I couldn’t let him be your last kiss.”
She smiles up at me. “We need to get back to work.”
“Ugh, fine,” I whine. I press a kiss to her forehead and turn back to the couch. “Just take it easy on me, will ya?”
Chapter29
Lexie
Brushing my fingers against my lips, I can still feel him there—Carter, not Aaron—and it feels heaven sent.
I hated ending the kiss, but I don’t want to give Carter hope when there may not be any. I can’t give him anymore right now. Not after everything we went through, not after Aaron.
Abbie thinks I’m insane, going on and on about how amazing Carter is. As if I don’t already know. As wonderful as Carter is, we’ve had more than our fair share of ups and downs in the short time we’ve known each other. Sure, relationships take work, but we’ve taken it to a whole new level.
Those first two weeks, though, before the truth came out, were damn near perfect. I wish I could get us back there, figure out how to forget the rest, and start over, but that’s not our reality. While Carter seems okay with forgetting and moving forward, I’m not. There was too much good mixed in all that bad for me to ignore.
“If you are just friends,” Abbie implores, “then why is this the fourth outfit you’ve tried on?”
“I just want to look professional,” I tell her.
