Page 36 of Breakaway

Nevaeh meets my gaze, watching me in the quiet of the room. She’s nothing like I thought she’d be. At first glance, she’s a very easygoing, always ready to have fun kind of girl. But it’s so surface level that I’m not really surprised I misjudged her. There’s so much more to her, something deeper and unexpectedly darker, and I’m finding it really hard to puzzle her out.

“We’ll never get back together. I don’t love him, and a loveless relationship isn’t what I want for myself. I witnessed enough of that in my childhood. There’s no way I’d go back to it as an adult.”

“‘Never’ is a really strong word, Nevaeh. I’m sure you never thought you’d get married on a whim in Vegas, and yet—here we are. Life is full of surprises. No one knows what’s going to happen to them for certain. We can only guess, and unfortunately, we’re not always right.”

“I get what you’re saying, but you’re wrong.”

Silence stretches as we sit on the couch, looking each other in the eyes. A tingling feeling in my fingertips urges me to move closer, to feel her skin against mine, to blanket myself with her warmth and tenderness. But I do nothing…because I don’t want complications.

“Do you want to eat?” she suddenly asks, making me blink. “Maybe we can order some takeout and watch something together.”

I stand up from the couch and hover over her. “I cooked yesterday. Macaroni with chicken cutlets. There are also tomatoes and cucumbers in the fridge if you want a salad.” I extend my hand to her, and she takes it, letting me pull her to her feet. “Though if you want something else, we just need to?—”

“Macaroni and chicken sounds good. Especially if you have some grated cheese to add.” A smile blossoms on her lips as she looks up at me, curling her fingers around mine. The wave of heat scattering over my skin throws me off, like a sudden cold wind on a scorching day. My heartbeat picks up, and I swallow my nerves and force a smile onto my face.

“I’ll trade you some grated cheese for you telling me about your day yesterday. How did it go when you told Angie the truth?” We saunter into the kitchen holding hands.

“Are you asking if Drake knows? He does. And why hasn’t he called you? Because I told him not to. But I’m one hundred percent sure he’ll bring it up at Ava’s birthday party on Saturday.” Nevaeh grins, making me snort. “That should give you a bit of time to think about what you’ll want to say. So be prepared because I’m sure your friends are going to have a lot of questions.”

I let go of her hand and nudge her toward the table. She goes to climb onto the chair, and my eyes zero in on her perky ass in cotton shorts. My mind immediately offers a memory from Vegas, when I woke up with my hand on her hip. And things start to feel a bit too tight in my pants.

Ocharovatel’no?4. Exactly what I don’t need when I’m trying to feed her a delicious meal.

Skirting the table, I move to the fridge. “I’m already terrified.”

Her mellow laughter spreads across the room, filling every little space with her presence. I chuckle to myself, choosing to focus on right now instead of torturing myself with all the what-ifs of my future.

I have all night for that.

1 ?? ??? ?? ????! — What a bunch of nonsense!

2 ?? ??? (cuss word) ??? ???. — To hell with all that.

3 ?? ??? (cuss word). — To hell with that.

4 ?????????????. — Lovely.

Chapter 15

Jealousy Doesn’t Look Good on You

NEVAEH

My eyes fly open,and I sit up in bed. The room is dark; the closed curtains don’t let in even a sliver of light from the street. I rub my palms over my face, feeling my heart galloping in my chest. Waking up so abruptly isn’t super healthy, and my head feels heavy. With a loud yawn, I toss my blanket aside and jump to my feet.

I head straight to Roman’s bedroom. I tiptoe, but the tapping sound of my bare feet echoes through the quiet space. When I stop in front of his door, my palms are sweating. I feel nervous. Pressing my ear to the door, I listen carefully, silently hoping it was just a dream. What if it’s all in my head? What if he just can’t sleep and?—

A sob bolts through the air and goes right through me. My heart squeezes painfully in my chest, and I clutch my tee, finding it hard to breathe. It’s one of those situations I would’ve been happy to be wrong about, and now I feel miserable because I’m right. Roman has nightmares, and they keep him awake.

I hesitate, debating in my head what to do…or if I should do anything at all. The evening we spent together having dinner and watchingPeaky Blindersbrought some peace between us, something both of us really needed after he snapped at mebecause of the flowers. And yet, we’re not friends. We don’t talk about any personal stuff, just share funny stories and discuss the show we’re watching. He’s reserved and distant, and I have no clue how he’d react if I went into his room.

I better go back?—

“Maks, net, pozhaluysta?1.” His quiet voice mixed with his sobs makes me freeze on the spot, silencing all the thoughts in my head. “Pozhaluysta…?2”

It would be so much easier if I could understand what he was saying. Him and his Russian, dammit.

Taking a deep breath, I put my hand on the doorknob and push the door open. As slowly as possible. I bite the inside of my cheek, padding into his room and stopping beside his bed. The moonlight coming from the living room through the open door casts a shadow on his face, traces of his tears making me dig my nails into my skin. Roman is lying on his right side, his knees pulled to his chest. His hands are hidden under his pillow. His blanket is on the floor, and the sheets look like a total mess.

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