Page 42 of Falling for Them

Her eyes, usually warm and inviting, now blazed with an intensity that I swear simultaneously made my dick twitch and my balls hide themselves. She laughed, but there was no humor in it. “What I need is for you two to grow the hell up!”

Ethan and I exchanged a glance, momentarily united in our shared surprise and discomfort.

“Do you have any idea what it’s like to be caught in the middle of... whatever this is?” Libby gestured between us, her voice rising. “It’s exhausting! Every time I turn around, you’re at each other’s throats. And for what?”

I opened my mouth to speak, but she cut me off with a sharp look.

“No, I don’t want to hear it. All I see are red flags. Everywhere I look, it’s red flags waving in my face!” She ran a hand through her hair, frustration evident in every movement. “I feel like I’m refereeing a boxing match between two overgrown toddlers.”

I couldn’t deny the truth in her words. We had been acting like idiots, letting our rivalry spiral out of control.

“I’m sorry,” I started, but she held up a hand to silence me.

“Save it, Leo. I’ve heard enough apologies to last a lifetime.” She took a deep breath, and I saw the hurt behind her anger. It made my chest ache in a way I wasn’t used to. “I think you should stay somewhere else.”

For a moment, I was sure I’d misheard her. “What?”

“You heard me,” she said, her voice steadier now. “You have the means to stay anywhere you want.”

It felt like she’d ripped my heart out. “Libby, come on. That’s not necessary-”

“It is necessary. I can’t deal with this behavior anymore. It’s not fair to me, and it’s not fair to anyone who has to be around you two.”

Ethan, who had been uncharacteristically quiet, finally spoke up. “Libby, I-”

“No, Ethan. You’re not off the hook either.” She turned to face him, and I saw him flinch. “You’re both responsible for this.”

She looked between us one last time, disappointment evident in her eyes. “I need some space. From both of you.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stormed off to her room, leaving Ethan and me standing in stunned silence.

The sound of her door slamming echoed through the condo, making me wince. I looked at Ethan, expecting to see triumph in his eyes at my impending departure. Instead, I saw the same shock and regret that I felt.

“Well,” I said, breaking the silence. “I guess that’s that.”

Ethan nodded, running a hand over his face. “Yeah, I guess so.”

We’d both royally fucked up, and I had no idea how to fix it.

Being told to leave hurt more than expected, and I found myself unable to sleep. My hope was that in the morning, Libby would cool off enough to change her mind. It wasn’t like I would be staying that much longer anyway.

But I wanted to.

I’d suddenly found myself wanting to be at home instead of elsewhere, but now I’d fucked that up. I’d never considered myself a lonely person until I started living with Libby and Ethan.

Knowing I wasn’t going to fall asleep anytime soon, I reached over to turn on the lamp to find it out. With a sigh, I grabbed my phone, turning on the flashlight so I didn’t run into anything on the way to turn on the main light.

I flipped the switch, and nothing happened. “Well, shit.”

Were Friday night power outages going to be a new amenity for the building? I looked at my messages, and sure enough, there was one from the building saying power would be restored as soon as possible.

I stepped out of my room and into the hallway, the light from my phone guiding me through the darkness. The condo was eerily quiet, save for the soft padding of my bare feet against the hardwood floor. As I made my way toward the kitchen, a distressed cry cut through the silence.

“Ryker? Ryker!”

My heart skipped a beat. It was Libby, and she sounded terrified. Without hesitation, I changed course and headed toward her room.

As I reached her door, Ethan emerged from his room, looking disheveled and worried. “I’ve got this.”

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