AllFreeNovel
Share Us
This one,he thought.I pick this one.
He squared his shoulders.
When she came out of the shower, she was swathed in towels, and he went to her with his arms open wide.
She shook her head at him, tears glittering in her eyes.
“Shh,” he said to her. “We’re not going to talk about it yet. We’re just going tobe.”
She burrowed into his chest.
He wrapped his arms around her. He wrapped his tail around her. He engulfed her.
She shuddered against him, letting out tiny, soft sobs.
xv.
“SO,” SAID NILESthe next morning as he was leaving her place, “I don’t want to spring it on you out of nowhere, and I do want to talk about it. So, when would be a good time for you?”
Dahlia froze, his words cutting into her like a shard of ice. “Um… talk about…?”
“About you making me pass out with your raven mocker powers,” he said. “I want to talk about that. We can talk about it, right?”
They could, but… but… well, he’d been so amazing thus far. He’d stayed here with her last night, cooking her comfort food, wrapping himself around her and whispering soothing things in her ear as they cuddled together and watched mindless cartoons in her bed, her tablet propped up on pillows.
“Obviously, we can talk about it,” she said, nodding. She couldn’t say no, but… well, she didn’t want to talk about it. It was going to be conflict. She could just tell. She didn’tlikeconflict. Tommy never made her talk about it.
“Great,” he said. “Tonight? My place? We’ll pick up takeout for dinner?”
She nodded slowly. “Okay.”
“You sure, because you don’t sound…”
“Well, like what kind of talk?”
“I don’t know, exactly. You made me lose consciousness, though, so… it’s not nothing.”
She bit down on her bottom lip, tears threatening. “You know I’m sorry. I’msosorry. I never wanted—I told you I didn’t want to do it to you, and you told me to do it—”
“I know, I know.” He touched her face. “This talk is not an attack, baby.”
She flinched from his hand. “Okay.” This was resigned, though, because itsoundedlike an attack to her. How else could it be anything else? And what was worse, she deserved the attack. Shehaddone this.
He sighed. “Hey, we do need to talk.”
She nodded again. “I said fine.”
“If you want to choose another time—”
“No, let’s just get it over with,” she muttered.
Niles sighed heavily. “I’m feeling like you don’t want to talk.”
“Well…” She shrugged. “I just wish it hadn’t happened, I guess. I didn’t want it to happen. I really didn’t. And I wish I didn’t have to…”
“Deal with the consequences of your actions?”
“But I didn’t mean it!” she said.
