Page 108 of He Sees You When You’re Sleeping

I glare at him. “This isn’t funny, Jack.”

Jack reaches across the table, his hand stopping short of mine. “I’m going to do something I’ve never been good at,” he says. “I’m handing over control to you. You call the shots on this.”

I stare at his hand, so close to mine. It would be so easy to reach out, to bridge that gap. But I can’t. Not yet.

We sit in silence for a moment, the weight of his words hanging between us. I take a sip of my latte, buying myself time to think.

“So what now?” I ask finally.

“That’s up to you. I meant what I said about giving you space. If you want me to walk away right now and never contact you again, I will.”

I feel a pang in my chest at the thought. As angry as I am, the idea of never seeing Jack again hurts more than I want to admit.

“And if I don’t want that?” I ask, surprising myself with the words. “If I don’t want you to give up control.” I swallow hard, even more surprised I’m about to reveal this. “What if I want you to take control?”

Jack’s eyes widen, a mix of shock and something darker casting across his face. He leans forward, his voice low and intense. “I need you to be certain. If we do this, there’s no turning back. No more running away, no more hiding in the shadows watching from afar. It’s all or nothing, Chloe.”

I close my eyes for a moment, trying to quiet the storm of thoughts in my head. When I open them again, I meet Jack’s gaze with newfound resolve.

“I’m certain,” I say, my voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t want you on the outside looking in. I want you to come inside.”

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