Page 83 of Breathless With Her

Yeah, now I was the asshole, but she had pushed me away. She had let me go. Why was she here?

“I came in yesterday with Zoey. But then they let Dimitri back, and I didn’t come back today until I had some things handled. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Tears slid down her cheeks, and I wanted to forgive her. I wanted her to tell me that she loved me and then I’d do the same with her. But I couldn’t. She had pushed me away. Would she do it again?

She had said that she didn’t want anything serious. Well, getting hit by a car was serious. Maybe this was just too much for her. Because it was certainly too damn much for me.

“I’m so sorry.”

“That I got hurt?”

“Well, yes.” She looked at her hands and moved forward. She stood right at the end of the bed. Still not touching me. But it was better. I honestly didn’t know what I’d do if she touched me anyway. “I’m also sorry that I’m a horrible person. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

I just looked at her. What did she want? Why was she here?

She wasn’t professing her feelings to me. Only saying that she was sorry I’d gotten hurt.

Well, I was hurt. I was in a fucking hospital bed. And I couldn’t even get up right then. They had pulled the catheter out of my dick at least, so that was something. But, Jesus Christ. I did not want to deal with this. I did not want to deal with anything. Everything that I had been working toward my entire life up until this moment was slipping through my fingers. And she was just standing there.

Literal evidence of what I couldn’t have.

“Yeah, well, you did,” I said, my voice harsher than I intended.

Her eyes widened, and she took a step back.

I didn’t want to hurt her. But then again, it seemed this was what we were good at.

“You should go, Erin. Just go.”

She opened her mouth to say something, but then she just shook her head and turned on her heel.

She left. She didn’t want to stay. Didn’t want to fight. Well, I didn’t either.

I felt like shit. Hey…like I had gotten hit by a car.

Served me right.

Maybe Iwasthe asshole here. Didn’t matter, though.

I was going to lose the part of my job I loved, I had lost my damn spleen, and I’d lost the one person I thought I could love.

Seemed about right.

Just as I deserved.

Chapter 19

Erin

* * *

“This frosting is amazing,”Jenn said as she dipped her finger into the bowl.

“I know. I made it.” I smiled widely, but I knew it didn’t reach my eyes. I also knew that Jenn knew.

I was fine. Seriously. It had been…what? Two weeks since I had walked out of Devin’s hospital room. See? I was fine. I hadn’t broken down or melted into a puddle. I hadn’t been struck by lightning.

I was still standing. Apparently, making kick-ass frosting.

The fact that my sister was sitting in the customer area of my little shop eating frosting out of a bowl I’d prepared especially for her meant that I was fine. No, my sister totally wasn’t there trying to make sure I was okay. She wasn’t checking up on me. Because there was no need to do that.

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