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“Dragan, do you want to sit?” Caleb’s voice was laced with concern.
Dragan looked at him, the room spinning.
He couldn’t keep June safe, not if he didn’t want to scare her away.
He was doomed to always run from his past, and he couldn’t risk his future getting caught in the middle.
46
June waited for the cops to leave before straightening what she could around Dragan’s apartment. She could hear him in the bathroom, the door shut, voice occasionally rising in anger before dropping to a hissing whisper.
She had a feeling who had done this to him, and she couldn’t believe the kind of betrayal he must be feeling. To have a parent raid their child’s home… It was unimaginable. June’s heart broke for him, knowing he had always been caught in this cycle.
Not knowing how he would ever get out.
She sighed, heaving the sofa back upright. The cushions had been knifed, foam spilling out from the gaping wound. Dragan’s voice pitched again, but she couldn’t make out the words. She ordered take-out, knowing he’d be hungry whenever he emerged.
The food had just arrived when June heard the bathroom door open, his footsteps heavy on the hardwood as he stormed into the room. June froze at the counter, watching him, the plastic bag of food waiting to be opened. Dragan’s face was bright red, jaw clenched. One lock of hair by his forehead stuck out, twisted into a matt. But his eyes were what scared her most. Not for what he would never do to her, but what he could do to anyone that hurt him.
Hurt her.
His eyes were dark with anger, glassy with rage, staring at nothing but seeing everything.
June slowly opened the plastic bag, keeping her attention on plating the food, waiting for him to break the tension that hung in the air.
“I think you should leave.”
“What?” She spun to face him.
“It’s not safe for you here.”
“No one will be coming back tonight, Dragan.” She walked up to him, taking his hands in hers. He hung his head while June stared, willing him to look at her.
“Look at me, Dragan.”
He hesitated, anger radiated from his body, a coiled tension itching to be let out. June touched his face.
“Baby, I’ve had your back for 23 years, and you’ve had mine. I’m not going anywhere.”
“This isn’t fair to you.”
“It isn’t fair to you. You didn’t choose this. But I choose you, even if this is part of it. Please allow me to make the choices I want to make. Especially if it means having us.”
“I don’t know if I can, June,” he whispered.
“Promise me you’ll try. I — I can’t lose you, Dragan.”
He met her gaze, his body softening. “I love you, June. I’m nothing without you.”
The words rolled through her, a wave she’d been waiting for. Nothing else mattered. He finally accepted his feelings for her, and June felt safe accepting hers for him.
“I love you. You’re my world. We’ll get through anything that comes our way, so long as we have each other. Okay?”
He nodded, but June wasn’t entirely convinced. It felt like he was keeping something form her. She couldn’t tell if it was a secret or a lie, if he already made his mind up that he could never allow her into his world out of fear.
But he wouldn’t be alone in that. As June placed their food in the microwave, she wondered if she could be the kind of rock he needed the next time his dad came around. If she could be strong enough for him to trust in their relationship.
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