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“That’s beautiful. He must really be in love with her.” She had a faraway look in her eyes, and it almost killed me. What could I offer her of any value, other than pieces and parts of a broken man?
“He’s head over heels.” I had to laugh. “He asked me to consider working there.”
The look of excitement on her face was endearing but caused another significant ache. “You should do it. Apollo can be the ambassador.”
Just hearing my pup’s name brought me a moment of sadness and disgust. “We’ll see. It’s funny, I painted last night and before you go getting all happy, I destroyed it and pretty much the room I had set up as a studio.”
“Why?”
I swirled the wine in the plastic cup, still amused that I enjoyed cabernet as much as I did. “I don’t really know. I felt compelled to do so. Maybe because I painted crap. I know I used to be able to draw. That was a memory that came to me yesterday. I think I lost my talent.”
“So you remember that you used to draw?” She was baiting me with the lush curve of her lips as they formed a pout.
“Yeah, I guess I do. I think I was good back then. What I produced was shit.”
“Nonsense. You’re angry because you can’t control your emotions given your nightmares. Yes, I know about them.” She looked away as soon as she mentioned it.
Leaning over, I gripped her chin between my thumb and forefinger, forcing her to return her gaze. “You have them too.”
Her eyes opened wide, the beautiful flecks of gold shimmering against her virescent eyes. I could stare into them for hours, except at this moment they were filled with a flash of fear.
“You were awake.”
“I couldn’t help but be awakened by your scream.”
“I screamed?”
“Yes, after you begged someone not to hurt you.” I couldn’t seem to take my eyes off her.
“I never begged.”
She tried to look down, but I still wouldn’t allow her to shut down, lifting her chin with a single finger. “What happened?”
“I don’t want to talk about it right now.” She was insistent. When I dared rub my fingers across the scar on her arm, she tried to jerk away.
“Don’t, Chasity. Whatever it is, it won’t scare me away.”
As she lifted her chin, I could tell tears were forming. “It’s okay. I’m over it now.”
I fisted my hand, lifting my arm, waiting as her lovely eyes fell to my wrist. “I lost control but as soon as the blood started flowing, I realized I wanted to live.”
She wrapped her long fingers around my wrist. “I’m so glad you did.” When she brought the damaged area to her mouth, I shuddered involuntarily.
“Let’s not talk about anything bad right now. Okay?” she asked, her tone demure.
I wanted so much to know what the fuck she was dealing with, but I would be a hypocrite if I pushed her. “Understood. How’s the weather for you?” I lifted a single eyebrow, waiting to see how she responded.
Finally, a smile returned to her face, and she pulled out a few items of food. “Perfect, just like the date.”
“I thought this wasn’t a date.”
“Oh, it is.”
An awkward silence settled between us.
“The parents of the young man who’s buried underneath my tombstone want to exhume his body and give him a proper burial.”
When she stopped mid-action, I realized it was something that hadn’t been placed in the file. “I had no idea.”
