Page 30 of Forbidden Impulses

"What the fuck, Annie? How long has this been going on? Were you going to tell me?"

"I'm sorry, Suze." I say the only words I can find the strength to utter.

"That's all you have to say? You're sorry? No answers to my questions?" Her words are laced with hurt, and I canfeel,more than hear, the tears building in them. I want to rush over to my friend and hold her, but I know I am not the one to soothe her hurts right now.

So, instead of doing what I want and going to her for a hug, or responding to her words, I keep looking at my feet and shrug.

"Ugh! I hate when you shut down like this. I can't deal with you right now."

And those are the last words my best friend utters to me before she storms out of the room.

The slamming of the connecting door feels pretty fucking final, and I hope it doesn't symbolize the end of our friendship.

Chapter Twenty-One

Montgomery

Turns out it's surprisingly easy to have your heart ripped out of your chest and still carry on living.

Everything was going well. I know it was. There were still some hurdles to overcome, and Annie wasn't opening up to us all the way, but what did we expect after barely a week together?

The simple fact that I'm this heartbroken, this out of sorts after only a week, is a smidge confusing on its own. I completely understand my level of attraction for Annie is off the charts, but I have been living with my head in the sand a bit regarding how attached I've become to her.

And Lorcan.

We waited and waited and waited to hear from Annie after she went to see Suzie. She ignored all our messages and calls went straight to voicemail so we both assumed she'd switched her phone off to give Suzie her undivided attention, but it was driving us nuts, so after lunch, weboth went up to visit our daughter and see how things were going.

Turns out they weren't.

Suzie was in her room, eyes swollen from tears, and she refused to talk to us, other than to say that she knew about our relationship and that Annie had left after they fought. And Annie? Well her fucking room was empty.

She’d packed up all her stuff and disappeared like a thief in the night.

Except for the stuff we'd purchased for her over the last few days. That she left on the bed with a note containing just one word.

Sorry.

Lorcan is still losing his shit. It's been two days and we've been unable to locate her. The reception desk told us she had ordered a cab, but the cab company wouldn't tell us where they dropped her off, no matter how much money we offered them.

Not that I blamed them, because I'm pretty sure we came off like a couple of crazed, obsessed stalkers.

On top of the empty ache in my chest where Annie is supposed to be, there's this constant gnawing worry about how she's doing, and if she's safe.

She doesn't have much money saved up, and from what she and Suzie have told us, it's clear she's not welcome with her parents.

All our texts are left unanswered, and she's not even answering Suzie's calls.

Suzie finally caved and told us what happened with the two of them, and after fighting with us over keeping something like that a secret from her, she also shared that she loves that we're interested in her friend.

Which is exactly how I had hoped she'd react.

"I wish you'd stop pacing. They're going to charge us extra for the wear on the carpet," Lorcan growls from his spot on the bed.

I stop to stare at him, running my hand through my hair for what feels like the millionth time. "Do you think we should just go home? We should have checked out yesterday, anyway."

His chest rises and falls with a huge sigh before he pushes up. "Yeah. Probably. We have to trust that she will phone if she runs into any real kind of trouble."

I nod in response and move closer to him. He's sitting on the edge of the bed, his legs spread wide, so I slip in between them. When his arms wrap around my waist and he rests his head against my stomach, some of the crazy itchy feeling under my skin settles.

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