Page 188 of Blood & Betrayals

Connor’s skin takes on a faint glow. “You make me happy, too.” I feel his body completely relax into the sanctuary of sleep, and my own exhaustion claws at me. But just as I’m about to plunge into unconsciousness, I hear my phone vibrate on the bedside table. I reach over Connor, who is already snoring softly, and pick it up.

I frown at the message, quickly typing a reply.

There is a pause before he starts typing again.

How could I have missed him? He’s barely been away. Should I have missed him? Was that even an appropriate question for him to have asked?

The message seems to type itself, my fingers flying over the keypad.

I try to ignore the tug of disappointment.

Fuck. There’s that different tug, a deeper one. One that I need to veer away from right now and avoid forever.

I pause for a moment, staring at my phone before I start typing again.

I sigh, considering his question. Do I feel better now that I’ve opened up a can of worms and have absolutely no idea what to do with it?

My lips twitch, and I roll my eyes,

I lock my phone, hearing it faintly vibrate with his final message, but I’m already fading into sleep.

I only sleep a few hours later and wake up with my body still feeling uncomfortable from yesterday. Emotions have always wreaked havoc on me physically. It’s like my body tries to reject them so violently that they take a toll not only mentally but physically, too. Connor barely stirs as I climb over him and pull on tight yoga pants, a sports bra, and a sweater. Winter seems to have firmly claimed the realm.

Outside, I push into a run, planning to go for a smoothie.

My phone alerts, and beneath 1015’s lastGoodnightmessage, there is one from this morning. Does he ever sleep?

I slow to a walk and then stop fully. I look around, trying to spot him. It sets me a little on edge that I can’t feel his eyes on me. Am I taking my safety for granted?

I roll my eyes. What an arrogant dickhead.

I sigh and shake my head before pushing into a run again.

I glance at his message, and my lips twitch, but I ignore him as I arrive at the cafe to order my smoothie.

“Berry blast, please.”

The server nods and scurries away to start my order.

I narrow my eyes at the phone.

I roll my eyes again.

I scowl at my phone, trying to understand why he’s making such a big issue of this. Max runs the gym, and he is also my trainer, so why the fuck does it matter if he’s there or not?

I wince at the message and shove my phone away. I grab my smoothie and jog to the gym, making a beeline for the treadmill. The belt has barely started when Max appears in front of me, his frown putting deep furrows in his brow. “You didn’t ice.”

It’s not until he mentions it that I notice how sluggish my muscles feel. Max slams his hand down on the stop button and grabs my arm, dragging me to the sports medicine room.

“Max! What the fuck?” I yelp as he pulls me through the gym.

Max pushes me down on the table and places his hand on my shoulder. He presses his thumb into my muscle, finding a huge knot on his first pass.

“Moron,” he growls.

I buckle under the pressure and swat at him, his touch hurting me. “Ouch! Stop!”

“It hurts because you’re a moron. Lie down.”

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