Page 207 of Collided

A chuckle breaks out of him and when he sobers up, his eyes stare at me so softly. Like all the tenderness and gentleness has collected in his eyes just for me.

Lifting his arm, he tucks my hair behind my ear, then cups the side of my face. “I asked, how are you feeling?”

“I’m better.” Somehow, I manage to say, even though all I can think about is his hand cupping my cheek.

“You promise?” His thumb caresses my cheek, and his eyes never look away from me.

Has he always ever looked this much at me?

Definitely not.

Ever since we first kissed, he looks at me with these long stares that don’t end, even when I look away. It’s like his eyes love me or something.

It’s probably something, not love obviously. I mean—

My nose twitches when I feel a kiss there.

I startle in shock and find Heath very close to my face.

“What are you cooking in that pretty little head of yours?”

“I…You…” That’s all I can utter.

“What about us?” He looks amused.

My cheeks burn in embarrassment. Of course, I can’t tell him what I was thinking.

“Nothing,” I whisper.

“Tell me. I want to know what you were thinking about us.”

“I’m sorry,” I say instead.

That word changes his expression, and he backs up.

Heath narrows his eyes on me with a hint of anger in them. “What the fuck are you sorry about?”

“For puking and causing you all this trouble.”

With a sigh, he looks away. “What you should be sorry about is not telling me what’s going on. Seriously! What was that? Were youthatsick the whole day at school? Or is there something else?”

He asks too many personal questions—inching closer to scraping off the last layer that’s holding all my secrets.

“I don’t know,” I cry out, feeling confused and vulnerable all at once.

I want to talk about what happened yesterday, but I can’t. Knowing Heath, he will confront Dad, and a fight will start between them. Possibly him getting hurt worse than at that illegal place he fights at.

I can’t let anything happen to him.

I want to protect him.

Heath is like my favorite book out of the five hundred and ten books I’ve read so far.

He’s the best thing that has happened to me.

I’m scared of Dad hitting me, but I’m terrified of losing Heath.

I’ve always wondered why people in books keep a secret when they can simply tell the other person. Now that I’m in the same position I understand why the big reveal doesn’t happen until the last few chapters. It’s because, like them, I don’t want things to change between us. It’s going good so far. Even when my secret looms over us like an evil eye.

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