Page 151 of When The Night Falls

He cupped my face in his palms, watching me soberly. ‘For what it’s worth, I forgive you.’

My breath rasped in my throat and I stared at him. ‘Really?’

‘Really.’ He tipped my head back, his gaze set on my lips. ‘They look so puffy now,’ he said, running his thumb across them. ‘Makes me want to kiss them. May I?’

I sniffed and shrugged my head out of his hold. ‘No. Not right now. It feels disrespectful towards Aaron.’

He nodded vaguely. ‘I get that,’ he said and glanced at my bedroom door. ‘Does that mean you’d prefer to sleep alone or shall I stay the night?’

I blew out a loud, long breath and wiped my eyes again; new tears kept coming.

‘Do whatever you want.’

‘Then I’ll be staying the night.’

‘Okay.’

He raised his hand toward me but stopped before he could reach my chin. Withdrawing, he delved his hand in his pocket.

‘I– I’m sorry. I hate to see you like this.’

I shook my head. ‘I thought you were supposed to be at Stephen’s tonight?’

‘We were, but Giselle had to take an early shift at the hospital in the morning. A nurse called in sick, so we thought we’d show some consideration and do it here instead.’

I sighed. ‘Right.’

He looked around, probably wondering what to do with himself. ‘Well, let me know if you need anything.’

‘Thanks, but I’ll be all right.’

Nodding, he turned away and left.

I stood there for another while, thinking about Aaron. I had to explain things to him, try to salvage our friendship, but would he want anything to do with me after this? I was sure he felt betrayed, and I hated myself for it. At the same time, we had never been exclusive, so he had undoubtedly been aware that this could happen –that I might meet someone I would want to be with.

I decided that I should give him some time to come to terms with everything. It wasn’t like Aaron to stay angry for long periods of time, so I felt confident that he would reach out to me as soon as he had simmered down. We had so many years of precious friendship behind us. I doubted it had been lost because of this.

Huffing, I went into the bathroom and got ready for bed. As I walked out, I didn’t bother greeting the lads. I didn’t want them to see me like this: my eyes puffy from crying and my lips red and swollen. I didn’t think they had heard anything, but I was certain they had realised something was off by William’s prolonged absence earlier.

Entering my room, I went straight to bed, but I was too rattled to fall asleep. I kept seeing the hurt in Aaron’s eyes whenever I closed my own, and it made my chest ache with suffocating guilt.

Sleep was still eluding me when I eventually heard voices in the hall outside, and I realised the guests were leaving. When all of them had gone, I strained my ears, expecting William to come in, but instead I heard him lingering in the living room. He was chatting with Jason, but their voices were so quiet that I couldn’t distinguish anything they said. They remained there for quite some time until I finally heard a pair of feet drawing closer to my bedroom.

William opened the door. ‘Still awake?’ he asked, sounding concerned. The light from the corridor shone on his back, so I couldn’t make out the details of his face.

‘Can’t sleep.’

He walked in and shut the door. ‘Do you want to talk about it?’ He moved over to my bed.

I exhaled slowly. ‘Not really.’

He sat down on the bed, and his closeness made my chest feel just a bit lighter. I heard him take off his clothes, the articles landing on the floor one after the other.

Sighing, he lifted the duvet and lay down beside me. ‘Come here.’

A vague smile curved my lips. Snuggling closer, I rested my head on his chest while he wrapped his arm around me. My eyes widened at the march of his heart. I could feel it thumping against my cheek, hard and fast.

‘Are you okay?’ I asked worriedly.

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