Page 94 of Hold Me Until Morning

“Cody.” It was barely a whisper, and I wished I could divulge all the information so he could make an actual educated choice.

But I couldn’t give him that.

Not yet.

It wasn’t safe.

“Mean it, Hailey. You don’t need to worry about me.”

“I think I already do.”

“Well, we are friends after all.” He winked, back to light, as if the weight of my world hadn’t just suddenly been placed on his shoulders.

I fidgeted, warring, before I gave.

Accepted his gift.

“Let me know if you need anything.”

He smiled. “You might not want to know what it is I need, Hailey.”

Heat flamed.

“Right…okay.” Awkwardly, I tossed a hand behind me toward my bedroom. “I’m going to bed.”

I couldn’t get my feet to cooperate, and Cody kept grinning like he was somehow making a good time of this. Standing a foot away. That big body so close and on display.

I finally forced myself to turn, and I rushed across the floor, though I paused when I got to my bedroom door to whisper, “Goodnight, Cody.”

He was still standing there, watching me. “You sleep well, darlin’, because I’ll be sleeping light. You can rest assured that no one is getting by me.”

How was he so different than I’d imagined or expected him to be? Or maybe he’d been a different man when I’d met him that summer.

A player who probably didn’t have the first clue that that wayward smile had crushed two bleeding hearts.

One to never beat again.

“Thank you. For everything.” I meant it.

With all of me.

“It’s what I’m here for.”

I could only give him a small nod, deciding it was no use to argue with him that we weren’t his responsibility any longer.

He’d already chosen that we were.

It was on me to make sure it didn’t bring him harm.

On me to be the one to chase Pruitt away before Cody got involved any deeper.

Maybe it was time to be brave enough to do what I’d been threatening all along.

Apprehension prickled in my consciousness, and fear whispered terrors into my mind.

Swallowing it down, I forced myself the rest of the way into my bedroom and snapped the door shut behind me.

Cody didn’t move until I’d clicked the lock, then I pressed my ear to the wood and listened as his boots thudded across the floor. Listened to the rustle of fabric and the steady cadence of his breaths.

---