Page 67 of Losing Ansley

"I love you too, Linc."

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

LINCOLN

I LAYwide awake with Ansley in my arms, wondering if there was something I could have done differently to prevent what happened to her. She did everything right, but she still wound up getting hurt. I want to force her to go back to Mississippi with me. But this time, I will let her make her own decision. I can't keep pushing myself on her. Eventually, she'll come to resent me.

I brush a kiss over the bruise on her neck, anger stirring in my gut. And head into the kitchen for a glass of water. I start looking through her cabinets for a snack when there's a knock on the door. I'm not surprised when I come face to face with Dylan. He had to go to work as soon as I got here.

"How is she?" He asks

"She's pretty shaken up, but she's resting," I reply. Dylan runs his hands through his hair as he walks in, and I close the door. He walks into the kitchen with me and begins pacing.

"I should have been there!" He exclaims. "I should have gone with her to her trailer." He berates himself. I thought the same thing when I discovered that Dylan went to a nearby trailer, not Ansley's. But after giving it more thought, I realized that he was running on empty and doing his best. At least he was close by and able to stop Chad from hurting Ansley any more than he could have.

"Dylan, stop." Dylan stops pacing and comes to lean against the counter next to me.

"I screwed up, man." He says in defeat. I bump his shoulder with mine.

"No, you didn't; you saved her." I admonish him. He crosses his arms over his chest.

"I feel like I keep screwing things up with her. I didn't know our parents treated her differently. I didn't realize she was having financial trouble. Have I really had my head so far up my ass all these years?" He asks, and I exhale.

"How much of the truth do you want?" I ask him. He leans his head back to stare at the ceiling.

"I need it all." He says.

"You're not a bad brother. You love Ansley. But sometimes, I think you did have blinders on, so you didn't notice everything that was going on around you. To be fair, Ansley's stubborn and refuses to talk and ask for help. If she had done that, you would have in a heartbeat. And Ansley and I kept you in the dark about how we were treated growing up, so that's not entirely your fault either." He rubs the back of his neck and takes a deep breath.

"That's one of the reasons I've tried so hard since she moved to Atlanta and why I didn't push her to move in with me. I knew she needed her freedom, so I helped her move here. She refuses to take anything else from me, so I figured I could at least do that." He tells me. I snort, knowing that side of her all too well. He pushes away from the counter.

"I think I'm going to head back to my place and try to get some sleep. How long will you be staying?" He asks.

"I'll be staying until at least tomorrow. She said she was off tomorrow, and I don't want her to be alone." He nods, saying he'll call later to check on her, then leaves. I take one more sip from my glass and ensure the door is locked before climbing back into bed with Ansley. I pull her against me and bury my nose in her hair; what I wouldn't give to fall asleep like this every night for the rest of my life.

THE NEXT DAYfeels awkward and stilted between Ansley and me, and I'm not sure why. We're sitting on her couch watching TV; even though she's lying against me, I feel she's far away. I try to give her space, though, because she went through a traumatic experience yesterday, so I don't push the issue.

"Are you hungry? We can get out and go grab something to eat." I ask, and she sits up, nodding.

"Yeah. We can walk down to that Italian cafe." She recommends, and I nod, remembering when I went with her and Dylan. We put our shoes on and begin the trek there. She's still reticent, and I've about met my limit.

"I'm sorry about last night." She blurts out. I turn to her in confusion, trying to figure out what she's talking about.

"Last night?" I ask her. She nods, pushing a stray hair behind her ear.

"The way I practically attacked you." She says, and I gape at her. When has she ever apologized for wanting me?

"Why are you sorry?" I ask, my guard going up. She shrugs as we make it to the cafe.

"It seemed like it bothered you." She replies. I grind my molars so hard I'm surprised they don't crack. Instead of responding, I gently grip her elbow so I don't hurt her and guide her inside.

"We'll talk about that when we get home," I tell her. We glance at the menu and decide on a pizza like last time, so I place the order. I turn to her, seeing she's withdrawn into herself. I walk over to her and crowd her against the wall.

"Ansley, I will always want you; however, I can have you. And I will always give you what you need. You asked for rough, but I was not giving you rough last night, not after what happened. So, I made love to you. That's what you needed, so that's what I gave you." I explain. She blinks back, tears, and looks away.

"You hesitated." She chokes out. A tear slips down her cheek. I did not want to do this in public. I wrap my hands on both sides of her neck, mindful of her bruise. I bring my thumb up and wipe the tear away. I lean down and give her a gentle kiss.

"You had been attacked. I did not want to hurt you. That's why I hesitated." I try to make her understand, but I can tell it's not getting through to her. Before I can say anything else, our name is being called, so I grab our stuff, and we walk back to her place. When we get there, Dylan is pacing in front of her door.

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