AllFreeNovel
Share Us
It had been the reasonable thing to do. But some things couldn't be undone.
Martina lunging at me with a knife couldn't be erased from my brain, and we were left with the shards of her actions. I almost felt like it was her fault we were on a mission that bound us in an uneasy alliance when all I wanted was to be free of him.
He turned around and looked back at me. "I don't accept that."
I clenched my fist. "Isaac—“
He lunged forward and grabbed my arms. "You were supposed to want me. To love me. Don't you get it? I chose you, and my mother said I could have you."
He looked half insane, and my heart contracted. If only it were that simple.
I pushed back. Again. This was getting old.
"You were a way out, Isaac. I never loved you. You turn to drugs instead of people, and I know you don’t care about me.”
"So you still insist on denying what's between us, Renata?" he asked, grazing my cheek. "Or should I call you Carmen, like he does when he thinks no one is listening?"
The anger built up inside of me. I had already heard enough of his words, and my expression must have conveyed that because he stepped back.
Then I punched him. It felt good. The force of my knuckles slamming against the hardness of his jaw pushed him away from me, and for a moment, we simply stared at each other in disbelief.
The air between us smelled of anger, sweat, and sulfur.
He backed away, rubbing his cheek, his eyes wide with shock. Maybe he was not expecting that reaction from me. Perhaps he was expecting me to fall prey to his words, to give in to him. I didn't.
"Don't touch me again, you murderer," he mumbled without looking at me.
Then he started back up the side of the mountain. My heart pounded. I needed to go with him. Santiago wasn't anywhere close. Isaac just kept pushing me and pushing. I couldn't take it.
"Isaac," I called after him, my voice tight with emotion.
He didn't answer.
“This is ridiculous!” I shouted at the back of his head. “I can still see you.”
Nothing. He wanted me to know I was alone in this. Taking a deep breath, I pushed myself off the rock wall and followed him up the mountain. My heart beat fiercely as I scrambled up the rocky cliff, my muscles aching with each movement.
As we climbed higher, I could feel the heat increasing, my skin prickling with sweat. The volcano was becoming more active, and I was feeling uneasy. But I forced myself to put one foot in front of the other, moving steadily upward. No one else was in sight, which was both a good sign and a problem.
Finally, we reached the top of the volcano. Below us, the Ciudad de Rubíes lay shimmering in the fading light.
It was time to set up camp once more. Isaac stood away from me as we opened our packs.
I opened my mouth. "Isaac."
He interrupted me, his eyes cold and hard. “Tell me you love me.”
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath to calm myself. When I opened them, I saw him setting up the tent. I followed his lead and began unloading the supplies.
Isaac broke the silence again. "Actually, we do need to talk about what happened earlier."
I looked at him warily. "What is there to talk about?"
“I accept. You don’t love me. If you won't touch me, I won't touch you. The others expect to see us together, and it would hurt both of us if all of that looked ruined now."
The way he said it made my eyes narrow. What he suggested was a pretty drastic flip of a switch.
But I needed this alliance, too. We needed each other to climb La Dama the day after tomorrow.
