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“What are you doing? Give that back!” I say, trying to reach for my phone. With the height difference between us though, he keeps it easily out of reach.
When it comes through the phone, I can hear Carter’s answer as clearly as if he were standing in the computer lab with us.
“Babe?”
Oh, fuck.
Rhys’ eyebrows drop as fury blankets his face. His anger is a physical thing that sucks out all of the oxygen in the room and leaves my lungs inoperational. His eyes darken until they lose the color I love so much, becoming shiny obsidian that drowns out the white around his irises.
Behind the anger are barely concealed hurt and betrayal, mirroring what I’m sure he sees when he looks into my eyes, the one notable difference being that I haven’t done anything wrong.
Rhys’ voice is unrecognizable when he speaks. At least a full octave lower than it usually is, it’s sharp as a fresh blade and devastatingly terrifying. “You have no idea the kind of power and resources I have access to. I will deploy every single one of them to find you and bury you alive in an unmarked grave if you ever text or call this number again.”
He hangs up and hands me the phone, his mouth in a grim line as he glares at me.
“You had no right.” I tell him, flustered.
I have no need or desire to talk to Carter, but Rhys is overstepping. Whether he wants to accept it or not, I’m single.
“I have every right.” He roars. “I have every right when it comes to you, especially if your ex is trying to claim what’s mine.”
“You’re my ex too.” I point out, knowing he won’t like hearing it.
He turns away from me and brings his fist down violently on the table, making my math textbook jump up an inch off the desk before coming back down.
He paces the room and shoots me pointed but furtive looks as he does so, almost like a caged wild animal that sees fresh prey just beyond the railings of its prison.
His frustration is obvious as he runs his hand through his hair, leaving it completely disheveled and wild after his passage.
“If you wanted to hurt me like I hurt you, you’ve done it. Alright?” He asks, “You’ve made your point. We’re even now.”
“I haven’t done anything, if you’re hurting it’s because of the consequences of your actions.”
“Then tell me what I need to do!” He says, crossing the room in large, hurried steps and grabbing both my arms. “How do I fix this?”
When I remain silent, he adds softly, “Do you really want to see me move on with another girl?”
Based on the way my stomach plummets and bile rises into my throat, I’d rather have my toenails ripped off one by one than witness that.
My face must betray my thoughts because he cups my face and says, “You don’t want that anymore than I want you dating another guy.”
I shake my head and a relieved look crosses his face as he continues. “I won’t watch you with anyone else, Thayer. I’ll give you the time and space you asked for, but please don’t go to anyone else. Can you agree to that?”
As much as I’m not ready to forgive him yet, I know I don’t want anyone else either.
“Will you do the same?”
He tips my chin up towards him. “How could I ever touch anyone else when you’re all I think about?”
I give him a small smile and step into his embrace, flattening my cheek against his hard chest as his arms wrap around me in a warm, protective hug.
His chin comes down to rest on top of my head and he holds me for long minutes, the two of us remaining silent as we each take what we need from this hug – comfort, reassurance, and a bit of hope.
Finally, he presses a deep kiss in my hair, inhaling my scent as he does so, and says, “We’re going to be okay.”
I don’t know if he says it for his benefit or mine, but for the first time since we broke up, I believe him.
???
