Page 21 of Pulled Away

Everything.

“Don’t lie.” He steps closer, trying to wrap his arms around me, but I step back.

“Sorry, I don’t want to get wet.”

My excuse is flimsy at best, and his frown tells me he knows it.

“What’s going on?”

“I’ve just had a hard day at work, okay? All I wanted was to come home, have a glass of wine, and spend time with you.”

“What happened?”

Concern furrows his brow, and instead of the concern soothing me, it irritates me. Let’s do that. Let’s focus on the minor issue, completely ignoring the bigger one.

“It doesn’t matter.” I sigh, running through options in my head. Never before have I needed space from Ryan, but now I do. Space to process everything I’m feeling, and to get a grip on my emotions. But I’m conflicted. I don’t want to leave them alone. Doing that feels dangerous. Not that it will make a difference. They’re together all day while I’m at work. That decides it for me, and I make my way back to the front door to collect my bag and keys.

“Where are you going?”

“Out for a bit,” I mutter, trying to ignore his heat at my back.

He grabs my arm. “Aspen. What the hell is going on? You just got here.”

I shrug, my demeanor a lot calmer than the churning going on inside my stomach.

“And now I’m leaving. I don’t want to be here right now.”

“What the fuck, Aspen? I’m confused. What happened between this morning and now?”

Okay, if he wants to do this now, I’ll spell it out for him.

“I had a horrible day at work. I had to assist Julia with an euthanasia. And then I come home to find the two of you in the hot tub. How would you feel if you came home after a hard day only to find me drinking in the hot tub with Carter or Nathan?”

His mouth opens, and I sigh again when it settles into a stubborn line.

“It’s not the same.”

“How? How is it not the same? Hadley’s single. Carter’s single. Nathan’s single. From where I’m standing, it’s exactly the same.” Looking up, I take a deep breath. I don’t have the emotional capacity to deal with this tonight. “Those boundaries I told you I was worried about? This isn’t just crossing them, Ryan. This is you pole vaulting over them.”

“Not this again,” he mutters, and my blood pressure rises. “I get that you’ve had a hard day, but don’t make this bigger than it is. How many times must I tell you that Hadley’s like a sister to me?”

“Really? I’m being unreasonable because I had a hard day? And are you speaking for the both of you?”

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Is he really that stupid?

“Figure it out, Ryan.”

I raise my brows in question as Rose takes a seat at the booth.

“Maya said you were here. If you wanted a night by yourself, you know better than coming to Frosty’s.”

“No, I’m glad you’re here.”

Distraction is good. It’s better than stewing in my thoughts. My phone screen has been dark, a mirror to my heart. Ryan hasn’t bothered to find out where I’ve gone to. I know it’s petty because I made it pretty clear that I needed time alone, but still. It stings. A lot.

He’s most probably too wrapped up in Hadley to care.

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