Page 10 of Don't Look Away

I reach for the only answer I have. “If you tried to hurt me, then I’d have no choice.”

“I hurt you all the time,” he says faintly, watching his own thumb stroke my bottom lip. “And you just keep coming back for more.”

Anger hits me hard in the chest. But not anger at Roman, anger at myself. Because, I know, deep down, it’s true…

CHAPTERTHREE

Roman

I’m shakenby Lux’s story, but I manage to keep my tone even, and my expression neutral. I’ve done extensive reading on Lux’s past; anything and everything my private detective could both legally and illegally get his hands on. And the story she’s telling me differs from other accounts.

Pushing off the bed, I grab my phone. I desperately need to change the topic and give myself time to process all this. Without looking at her, I open my food delivery app. “I’m going to order something to eat. What do you want?”

“I’m not hungry,” she answers.

I turn to look at her. “You’re eating something. You can’t live off of fries and root beer alone. How about sushi?”

She shrugs one shoulder, so I take that as a yes.

Once I have that ordered, I toss my phone back down onto the nightstand and move to the bathroom. “It’ll be here in twenty minutes.”

“Thanks.”

Grabbing a couple of washcloths, I hold them under the warm water, then wring them out. I use one to clean myself off, and the second one I take out to Lux, so she can do the same.

“Thanks,” she says again. Wiping herself down quickly, she hands the washcloth back to me and then settles back under the covers.

I grab a clean pair of underwear, then pick my clothes up off the floor and tug them on. “I’m going downstairs to grab the food.”

As I turn to leave the room, Lux calls my name and stops me. “Roman?”

I turn around to face her.

“You don’t hate me, do you?” she asks, sitting up, holding the blankets to her chest.

“Why would you ask me that?” I ask with more annoyance than I intended.

“I don’t know, you’re acting weird.”

I shift on my feet, hand still on the door handle. “It’s just everything. It’s a lot to take in,” I say. “I can’t help but put myself in that guy’s shoes, and I wonder if him being thrown in jail was fair when he was clearly having a mental break.”

My words are like missiles launched in her direction, and I can see the exact moment they make impact. Her face goes white.

“Fair,” she repeats, almost in disbelief. “Fair?”

My hand drops from the door handle, and I sigh. “Listen, Lux. Let’s not get into this now. I’m going downstairs to grab the food, and after we eat, we can talk about it, if you want.”

The expression on her face shifts from shock and disbelief to anger in the span of a millisecond. She slips out of bed, completely naked, and starts walking toward me. If she had a weapon in her hand, I have no doubt she’d use it against me. Thank God she doesn’t. Her death stare is weapon enough.

“The food can wait,” she says, advancing on me. “I want to talk about itnow.What exactly do you mean by fair, Roman? Was it fair when he harassed my friends? Hunted me?Threatenedme? Was any of that fair?”

God, there’s so much to unpack here, and I don’t really feel like she’s in a place to listen to what I have to say. “No,” I reply. “None of that was fair. I’m sorry that happened, Lux. I really am.”

She stops a few feet away from me. “But you believe me, right?”

I’m not prepared for that question, and I stumble over my response. “Of course, I do. But….” I run my hands through my hair, searching for the right words. I let my hands drop. “I have someone close to me in jail, and I know exactly what a place like that can do to someone. It’s brutal in there, and ten years in a place like that is like manufacturing a monster. And this guy…he’s going to come out worse than when he went in, guaranteed.”

She narrows her gaze at me, and clamps her mouth shut, like she’s shutting down. I close the distance between us and run my hands down her arms, but she doesn’t move. She just stares at me, half-angry, half-lost in thought.

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