Page 44 of Breaking You Open

My eyes widen. Is he saying what I think he’s saying?

He’s right though; there’s no use in waiting for Louis to change his mind. If I want to talk to him, I have to go to him, but how? We’re at least an hour away by foot, and I’m so tired already. I don’t know if I can make it. At the same time, I don’t want to spend even one night away from him, especially not in this place.

Ravi takes a big sip of beer and gestures over his shoulder. “The restrooms are that way. There might be an exit door too, but don’t try to open it, okay? And don’t tell Louis I told you.”

Did he just…? I put a hand over my mouth to keep from laughing. My few sips of beer must have given me a new surge of confidence.

“Okay, uh, I think I need to go to the restroom.”

“Sure thing, kid.” Ravi grins and crosses his legs, sipping his beer with no care in the world.

Louis thinks I’m just a witless kid who knows nothing of how things work, but I know this: I know he likes me, and I know this whole thing was just a bullshit excuse to protect himself from what he’s feeling for me.He’sthe kid, and I’m the wise one. It’s time for me to prove it.

Chapter 14

Louis

The ensuing night turnsout to be one of my worst in a while, and I don’t even understandwhy. I did the right thing, didn’t I? I let Sparrow go. He’s in Ravi’s hands now, and he’ll be fine. So why do I feel so bad? Why does the darkness press in on me with a distinct feeling of wrongness?

My attempt at distracting myself by working on my bike doesn’t help. Nothing does. My only option might be to take an Ambien, call it a night, and try to forget about this mess.

I’ve got the pill in my palm when my phone starts buzzing. It’s Ravi. A jolt of anxiety shoots through my veins. Did something happen? Something with Sparrow?

“Houston, we have a problem,” Ravi says at the other end of the line. “The little bird has flown off.”

“What?”

“Yeah, man. I swear, I was getting him some tea because he said he was cold, but then poof, he was gone! Must have found the back exit or something, and that’s weird because it’s supposed to be locked, and I don’t even know what—”

“I thought I told you to fucking keep an eye on him,” I growl, speeding to the hallway to wrench my jacket on.

If Sparrow has left the motel, it means he’s alone out there, late at night, with no protection…God forbid his forebodings about his ex have some truth to them after all, or some other psycho tries to pick him up, like that rapist bastard Eric Fletcher.

I kill the call, cutting Ravi off in the middle of his apologies and rationalizations. For all I know, he might be the one who let Sparrow go on purpose. It wouldn’t be the first time he’s disobeyed my orders, and now, because of him, Sparrow might be in danger, and…and…

The doorbell rings.

I roll my eyes. Of course.

When I open the door, Sparrow looks up at me with his huge blue eyes, hair windblown and mouth panting as if he ran all the way here.

“Hi,” he gets out between breaths. “It’s me.”

I shake my head, anger and relief warring inside me until I can’t tell one emotion from the next. “I know it’s you, kid.”

“So … uh …”

“Just get inside.” I grab hold of his shoulder and shove him behind me before I close the door. I loom over him in the hallway while he presses himself against the wall, gazing up at me with an almost fearful look in his eyes.

“I-I didn’t want to stay there,” he says. “That place was scary.”

“I know.”

“I want to stay with you.”

My shoulders slump in a weary sigh, and all my resolve fades with it. “I know.”

“So…” He’s shaking now, fists clenched by his sides. “Will you let me?”

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