Page 55 of The Stalker

Tatiana frowned as she thought about the question. “You’ve got a big thing about truth telling. Why?”

The lights turned green, and she made her way through the intersection. She didn’t expect a response to such a heavy question from Hayden at once. Sure enough, it was nearly a full minute, and they were nearing their destination by the time he answered.

“It’s not something I’ve ever really thought about. I’ve just always hated being lied to. In recent years, though”—he cut himself off and swallowed deeply before continuing—“I’ve seen lies, both spoken and unspoken, do a horrendous amount of damage to people and their relationships.”

Tatiana pulled into the tour bus company’s parking lot. She parked the car and pressed the button to turn it off before she turned to look at Hayden.

“That sounds bad,” she said lamely, unable to come up with a better response.

“It was,” he nodded, then looked down at the center console between them. “I don’t like lying, and I like being lied to even less.”

He fell silent, but Tatiana sensed that he had more to say. She watched him trace the cutouts in the cover for the car’s start button.

“I know Blake treats me like shit,” he whispered.

Whoa. Did not expect that.

“I don’t know what to say to that, Hayden.”

He shook his head. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want your pity.”

“Why stay?”

She didn’t want to push him, but it was something she had genuinely been wondering since the night she first met Blake.

He looked up and gave her a chagrined smile. “The sex is good, I guess.”

“Bullshit. There are plenty of places to get good sex—”

Hayden’s eyes went dark, and Tatiana’s breath caught in her throat as the possibility of somewhere else he might be able to get good sex came to her mind. They stared at each other and Tatiana suffered an onslaught of images about what they could do right now. She longed to close the space between them, but she didn’t.

Instead, she forced herself to focus and said, “I can’t figure it out. You’re amazing, Hayden. Surely you know that. So why stay in a relationship with someone who seems to do everything he can to make you unhappy?”

Tatiana knew that she would never take Hayden for granted if she were as lucky as Blake. Yet, he certainly seemed to be unappreciative of the complete gem that he had in his care.

“He doesn’t always make me unhappy,” Hayden objected.

“Hayden,”—Tatiana said in a firmer tone than she intended, and he met her gaze—“your partner shouldn’t make you unhappy at all. You know that, right?”

He said quietly, “Yeah, I’m seeing that. Things should be fun and easy, and I shouldn’t be spending nights out wondering what exactly my boyfriend is going to say next to piss off my friends. But then we’ll be alone and he’ll be sweet and lovely, and I’ll forget all the shitty things he did. I just wish he was like that all the time.”

Tatiana’s heart was breaking in her chest as he spoke. He was so beautiful and fragile; she was worried that Blake would break him into pieces. Which was, coincidentally, what she wanted to do to Blake. Their relationship was far more unhealthy than she’d even guessed.

Given what she knew of Cruise Control, she doubted that any of them knew about this, but she wanted to be sure, so she asked, “Who have you told this to, Hayden?”

Hayden had his eyes down, and he was tracing the cover of the start button again as he said, “Only you. I suppose I kind of told Lita last year, but I chickened out from telling her I was ever unhappy.”

She sighed and said, “Did you end up organizing a session with that therapist you mentioned?” Hayden nodded. “Might I suggest that you mention some of this to them as well?” Hayden nodded again. “Can I give you a hug?”

He finally looked up and met her gaze before nodding a third time. Tatiana unbuckled her seatbelt, then leaned across the space and wrapped her arms around his neck. He put his arms around her waist and squeezed her firmly. She melted into his embrace and felt all of the tension leave his body as he relaxed as well.

They hugged for a long time, and Tatiana knew that she probably needed it as much as he did. It was soothing and peaceful, like being in the library but far more enjoyable.

Finally, she sighed softly and said, “We should go look at this bus.”

“I don’t want to. I’m happy right here,” he replied, but he squeezed her tightly a final time and let her go.

She straightened up and smiled at him. “Feeling a bit better?”

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