Page 121 of Burn for You

It will never last. I should’ve never involved myself with Rafael. It was never going to end well, and now what? What happens with our friends?

I need to get out of here.

I turn the corner and run straight into something hard. Hands grip my arms, and I look up to see Heath.

He frowns down at me. “What’s wrong?”

It’s then that I feel the moisture gathering in the corner of my eyes. “Help me get out of here?”

chapter forty-one

RAFAEL

My fist bangson the gigantic front door of Heath’s estate. “Heath! Let me in, you prick!”

The door swings open and I see Heath’s face wracked with fury. “Oh my god, would you shut the hell up?”

“Where is she?” I push past him into his house.

“Yeah, no, I’m good. Thanks for asking. How are you?”

“Which of these rooms is she hiding out in?” I walk down the hall, peering into all the rooms in this gigantic place. May thinks that my house is ridiculously big, but Heath’s estate is truly enormous. I've never even counted how many rooms it has.

“I know you two are screwing now, but that doesn’t mean you’re entitled to come barging into my house demanding to see her.” He stands in front of me.

“It’s not just screwing, asshole, and you know it.”

“Rafael, you need to cool it. She just wants space, and you need to give her that. You go in all guns blazing, and she's going to shut down. You know that.”

My breathing is erratic, and I try to slow it down as I take in what he said.

I hate to admit it, but he’s right. I’m going to freak her out with all of this — all of my feelings—if I don’t get them under control.

I only saw May for a split second before she bolted from the wedding—our best friends’ wedding. The last thing I expected her to do was leave early. But in the split second that her eyes met mine, I saw a look in her eyes that made my gut churn. I recognized the feeling. I felt it months ago when I saw her in that cottage, the place burning around her. Fear tore through my system, the fear of losing her, and it’s the same feeling that’s got me banging down my friend's door just to see her face.

“Just tell me she’s alright?”

He sighs. “It wasn’t you. You didn’t do anything to upset her.” I should be ashamed that he can read me so well, but I’m just relieved at his words.

I bristle. “Then who did?” Heath avoids my gaze. “Heath…”

He sighs in defeat. “Talk to your sister.”

I stormthrough the front door of my house. It barely feels like my house anymore. I’ve been spending all my nights at Rosemary Cottage with May. The thought makes my mind spin with the idea that I might not spend any more nights there, not if May is distancing herself from me. Not if whatever my sister said to her made her spiral.

“Marisol!Dove sei?”I yell.

She appears in the hallway. “CiaoRafael, how are you? I’m good myself. Thanks for asking.”

I roll my eyes.Why is that everyone’s response?“What did you say to her?”

Her brows pull together. “Who?”

“May!”

“Okay, you need to chill.”

I sigh and level my temper. “What did you say to her?”

---