Page 125 of Play Pretend

My heart thundered in my chest, my already frazzled nerves sending waves of tremors through my body. He needed me—he was spiraling, and I didn’t know how to stop it. How to help him.

Without thinking, I took a step toward him. “Ro, baby,” I whispered, resting my hand on his chest. “Let me count with you.”

He blinked a few times, his red-rimmed eyes shifting to me. “What?” he rasped.

“One, two…come on, count with me.” I felt his chest expand as he took a shuddering breath in.

“Three, four?—”

“That’s it. Five, six?—”

“Seven.”

We stared at each other, the smoke still invading my nose, his heart slamming against my palm. But he was calming down. Or at least I hoped he was.

“Now what? Should we check the stove?” I turned toward it, but his hand snapped around my wrist.

“Don’t go near it,” he rasped. He was trembling, his eyes wide as he stared at me.

His fear was genuine. It wasn’t just anxiety; it was something deeper. Something I couldn’t fully understand, but I sympathized with. Tension filled the air between us as I nodded. Turning back to him, my hand returned to his chest.

“Okay.” I tapped my fingers against him, focusing on slowing my breathing, hoping he’d follow suit. “You check it, then. Make sure it’s off.”

His breathing was shallow as he turned toward it. He reached for the first knob, gently touching it to confirm it was off. Slowly, he repeated it on the other knobs before his attention returned to me.

I hated seeing how red his eyes were, how much fear he still harbored. It broke my heart—all I wanted to do was help him, take his pain away. But there was nothing I could do other thanthis.

“It’s okay,” I murmured. “It’s off. It’s safe. Now the microwave.” I gestured to it, watching as he shakily strode to it, checking that it was unplugged.

My heart ached watching him, but I knew with each ritual checked off, he was calming down. His hands trembled as he moved back to my side, wrapping his hand around mine. “Now what?” I whispered, searching his face.

“Locks.” His voice was low and raspy, like he’d been screaming even though I knew he hadn’t been. “I have to check the locks.”

“Alright. Let’s check them.”

We went to the front door, and I stood by his side as he locked and unlocked the door. His eyes flicked to me with each turn, as though he was embarrassed, but I said nothing. I did nothing. I just watched and waited until he was done, until he was comfortable.

Finally, he rested his forehead against the door, his chest heaving as if he’d just run a marathon. I focused on hisshoulders, watching as they rose and fell, each breath steadier than the last.

“I’m sorry,” he finally whispered, his eyes squeezing shut. His voice cracked on the apology, and emotion thickened in my throat. I wanted to yank it out of him, the fear, the shame, everything he was feeling. I wanted to protect him, wrap him up, make it all go away.

“Don’t apologize,” I said, leaning my head against his arm, breathing in his smoky, piney scent. We stayed like that for a long moment before he finally stepped away from the door, his hand falling to his side.

“Thank you.” He dropped his gaze to the floor, his hands sliding into his pockets. “For—everything.”

The embarrassment in his voice gutted me. I chewed on my bottom lip as I shook my head.

“You don’t have to thank me for anything,” I croaked. My chest shook as I breathed deeply, the burnt scent still lingering in the air. “What were you doing?”

He cracked a small smile but shook his head as if he were trying to push it away. “I was trying to cook dinner for you,” he whispered. “Obviously, I failed.” His throat bobbed as the words came out, and my heart squeezed.

“Thank you for trying,” I said softly.

He shoved his fingers through his hair, his hand a bit steadier now. Gradually, his breathing evened out, and he finally met my gaze again. A soft smile curved my lips. “Maybe we should go out to eat,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck.

“Yeah,” I huffed out a laugh. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“That was much betterthan the diner,” Ronan said as he pulled out of the parking lot of Dockside Grille.

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