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“That’s it?” I asked and firmly gripped my coffee and bag so I wouldn’t reach for him when he continued walking away from me. So I wouldn’t fall into his arms. So I wouldn’t stay there forever. “Why are you doing this?”
“And what might ‘this’ be?” he asked as his gait changed. Slowed. But the way his body twitched agitatedly showed how reluctant he was to stay there.
“Running the second I show up somewhere,” I said to his retreating back. “Ensuring I don’t see you.”
“You’re seeing me now.”
“You know what I mean,” I shot back and was horrified at the way my voice dipped and wavered. I wanted to believe I was only so close to breaking because I’d just been dragged into my horrifying past, but from that first night, this man had been different in every way.
Swallowing the emotion building in my throat, I drew in a fortifying breath and said, “I’m done with this feigned distance.”
A sneered curse escaped Diggs when he abruptly turned and cleared the distance between us as if it’d never been there at all. Getting so close that I was instantly dizzy with him. His scent. His body heat. The way his strong hands vibrated as he forced them back to his sides when he automatically reached for me. “You’re safer the farther you are from me, Tree, don’t you get that?”
“I don’t believe that.”
“You heard her in there,” he ground out, irritably gesturing to the doors behind us. “You heard me.”
“Then why have you been in my apartment every night?” I asked softly.
“You said you wanted a dog.”
“I—” My brow furrowed and bewilderment pulsed from me at the unexpected response. “Wait, what?”
“First day of school, you told Lex you wanted to get a dog to protect you.” He stepped closer still, forcing my head to tilt back so I could maintain eye contact and stealing my breath when his chest pressed against mine. When he continued, his voice dropped to a low rumble that had my heart racing. “Already told you I’m a bloodhound. I’ll protect you better than anything else could.”
Why a tendril of fear and intrigue wove through me at that inane title he continued claiming, I had no idea. But I fought the urge to ask him to elaborate because I wanted an answer.
A true answer.
“And what’s the real reason you’re still sneaking through my window?”
From the way Diggs stood there—subtle, restless movements betraying the internal battle he was waging—I had a feeling he was talking himself out of spilling every one of his secrets right then. Right there.
An eternity of torturous seconds passed as he searched my face before admitting, “I can’t answer that. Just...”—one of his hands lifted to my face before he managed to pull it back to his side, his head shaking as he began walking away—“let me take care of this the way I have to.”
“No.”
Diggs froze. Eyes widening with a cold sort of dread as he slowly looked back at me.
“I told you I sensed something dangerous in you. Clearly, you think it’s really bad. But you won’t give me a chance to show you that I can handle it—that I can handle you. And if you won’t give me that chance, then I don’t want whatever you think you’re taking care of by being there every night.”
His lips had parted as I spoke, pleas and denials swirling through his eyes before he locked it all up. Brows drawn low over his cold eyes. Mouth a firm line. Muscle feathering in his clenched jaw as he gave a hard dip of his head and grated, “Nice cup,” in parting, the words laced with meaning.
I glanced at the to-go cup in my hand, only then remembering the one I’d left on my counter that morning. The designs and colors from each shop clearly shouting they were different.
A sliver of guilt pushed through my stomach and was overwhelmed by the sinking feeling that always came with watching Diggs walk away from me. The hope that struggled to bloom when he hesitated and backtracked a couple steps was consumed by a startling pain that wove a path through my body when he stalked toward an awaiting motorcycle and rode away.
I still couldn’t wrap my head around the knowledge that a month and a half with a man had come to mean what it had, but I knew what it felt like to lose someone significant to you.
Diggs was significant.
Still, I wouldn’t let him remain in my life on his terms.
With a shuddering breath, I headed into the school and back to the hall, where Cora and Rorie were talking just outside my classroom.
“Girl, what?” Cora said on a gasp as soon as she saw me. “Rorie said she saw Mr. B&E talking to Zara this morning and that they hurried to end the convo as soon as they realized staff was showing up.”
“He’s—” Rorie’s words caught in her throat and her head quickly shook. When she continued, her eyes were filled with pleading concern. “Willow, you need to be careful. He isn’t someone you should be with.”
