Page 61 of Heart Sick Hate

A shiver runs my spine at the firmness in his statement. At the surety in his gaze. I’m sure he means for it to sound comforting, but something darker plays in his statement, and I wonder if he’s even aware of it.

Rhett plants his hand over mine on the bed as voices in the hallway kick up. For a moment, I hold my breath until they pass Rhett’s door.

“Are you in this with me, Echo?” He squeezes my hand, once more pulling my attention.

I want to be in this.

“Yes.”

I hope he doesn’t sense the doubt when that word should be truth etched in stone by now. Our fate sealed for both our good.

I let myself be untethered once. I did what felt right over what was considered acceptable. And that girl found only darkness. She found blood. And they wanted to lock her away for it.

He squeezes my hand, and the faintest smile ticks up in the corner of his mouth. “I realize I’ve been less than ideal in this relationship, and I’m sorry about that. It’s not because I don’t care or because I won’t commit when needed. It’s just—”

“Not like that between us.”

“Exactly.” He nods. “But it needs to be.”

He squeezes my hand again, but the tightness might as well wrap my heart with how the thought of it suffocates me. Once we get married, this needs to be more thanwhat it is. The pretending will stop, and I’ll officially be Rhett’s wife.

“So are you saying you want to start trying now?”

No matter what I’ve said to Crew, I dread Rhett’s response. I’m not ready to give up my last taste of freedom, and all I can hope is Rhett isn’t either. If we’d had this conversation from the start, it might have been different. But we indulged, we chased.

We embraced each other as friends. And in this hospital room—everything fragile is on the verge of shattering—I feel it.

And I’m not sure what cuts deeper, that Rhett’s asking me for the one thing I thought we’d try from the beginning, or if it’s that he’s askingnow.

“Not necessarily.” He shakes his head and pulls his hand back to my relief. “I’m just saying we need to start somewhere. I almost died tonight. If I’d have been one step to the left, I might have. But luckily the asshole had a crappy aim.”

My throat tightens. Everyone around me has been downplaying the severity of what’s going on. But if Rhett almost died, someone needs to start taking the threats more seriously.

“In less than a year you’re going to be my wife.”

That word rips me out of my thoughts. It might as well rip my soul out of my body. But I fight back the burning behind my eyes and the way my vision gets blurry on the edges.

“I’m saying we need to figure out what we’re doing before then.” He pinches the bridge of his nose. “At the very least we should learn to be proper friends.”

Friends.

Like that’s the end goal when the terms are marriage.

“And Angelina?” I ask, trying to gauge if that’s why he looks torn in this moment.

“She knows my limits.” Rhett’s stare drops to my left hand, and I realize I’m once more rubbing the spot that used to be occupied by my purity ring. “Does he?”

I nod, hoping I’m right. But the truth is, Crew is a live wire who believes he can affect any situation. What it is and what he imagines might be two different things.

But I let that be my problem.

“Good.” Rhett nods. “Because right now, we need to keep up appearances. And once we sayI do…”

He trails off, but I feel it. Something between a warning and an order. Once we’re married, it will be too dangerous to continue living separate lives. We’re going to have to figure out how to actually make this real.

“I understand.” Standing up, the room tilts, and it takes all my focus not to sink into the place my brain does.

“Echo.” Rhett grabs my hand once more before I can turn and walk away. “Be careful. Crew doesn’t know how to love, and I don’t want you to get hurt by him. Regardless of what you think, I do care.”

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