Page 49 of The Lie
Rushing to the bathroom, I grab my towel, and when I return, she’s standing in the same spot, shivering. “Mila, what happened?” Something must have happened for her to be standing on my doorstep in the rain like that. Did she get carjacked?Fuck.
“I had to see you, see if you were okay. I had a bad dream, and I needed to see you with my own eyes. To know you were okay.”
My heart swells. She had to see me. After a bad dream. God, this girl is going to break down all my walls. I take a deep breath and try to calm myself before I beg her to run away and marry me.
I focus on the task at hand—getting her dry—but her clothes are soaked through. “Where did you park your car?” It must have been far for her to get this wet. Or how long was she standing outside my door?
I pull up the hem of her hoodie, hoping if we get this off, then maybe whatever she’s wearing underneath is dry. She can wear something of mine while I drive her back to her car so she can get home and have a long, hot shower.
“My car had a flat tire. I didn’t know how to change it, so I left it at home.” She gives me a small smile and shrugs, like it’s no big deal.
I grab her shoulders, and she looks up at me. Those eyes…they’re like looking into the ocean, so much love and hope in them. I can’t be angry with her. “You walked all the way from your house? What were you thinking?”
She blinks and wipes her eyes. Is she crying?
“Mila, don’t cry. I’m just worried, okay? It scares me that you walked here alone. In the rain. Can you promise me…”
I let go of her shoulders and run my hands down her arms, trying to catch my thoughts before I scare her. I can feel the cast under the damp fabric on her right arm. Fucking hell. That can’t get wet. I let go of her for a moment and pull on my hair before pinning her with my gaze. I want her to know how important this is and that I’m not angry but scared.
“Promise me you will never do that again, ever. You call me or call Hunter. Never walk out here alone; this place isn’t safe for you. I don’t want you here, but that’s only to keep you safe. The people who live here are not good. I don’t ever want something to happen to you because you were here.
“So, promise to call me, and I will come change your tire, and you will see I’m alright. Okay?”
She nods and glances around my room. It’s not much. Fuck, it’s nothing compared to her room, but she just glances back at me and gives me a half smile. “You need to turn your phone on. I was scared for you, so I tried to call you. When you didn’t answer, I came here looking for you. To make sure you’re okay.”
She’d been scared for me…because of a bad dream?
“I took a nap and had this feeling something bad was gonna happen to you, and I needed to see you. I know it sounds silly now. I was just scared that I’d lost you, and I can’t, Roman. I’m never letting you go.”
The statement frightens me more than I want to admit. After what happened earlier with those two assholes…I could have been killed because my father can’t stop and doesn’t care about his son. He doesn’t care if they kill me. As long as he gets his fix, he would let them. Just like they know that I would do anything to keep Mila safe.
Just eighteen months—that’s all I need and I will be done. I will move into the club…or choose a different path.
One without pain and hurt.
One that includes Mila.
TWENTY
MILA
I’d dropped Asher off at his place and said hi to Dad. Asher didn’t speak in the car at all, and neither did I. I didn’t know what to say. He thanked me for the lift, then I left for home.
I needed time to think about what he’d said. It was all too much. So much shit had gone down since I moved back home. Jace, Roman, Hunter, now Asher and Grady. I’m starting to think I’m cursed. Everything I touch turns to shit. Well, not Hunter—he’s my gold. I finally drifted off to sleep, but it was fitful, my dream dark.
Actually, it was more a bad feeling about Roman. It seemed so real, the feelings washing over me all dark and twisted, like I knew something bad is going to happen to him. Like, really bad. And I need to stop it. Were those guys back? Did they want to hurt him? We haven’t spoken about them, but I worry about it every day.
Even though it sounds silly when I explain everything to him, I’m glad I came, if only to see with my own two eyes that he’s safe. Except, now that I’m here, I don’t want to leave. I can’t imagine leaving him behind. His room is neat and tidy, for what there is in here—a few football trophies, a poster of Metallica on his wall, his neatly made bed, and an old, broken dresser. It isn’t much, but Roman’s whole life is in this room.
The rest of the place doesn’t look like this. I can tell his father never cleans. He must fall asleep with his cigarettes still lit, as there are ash and burn marks in the carpet around his chair. I don’t think he even cooks. Roman probably does the bulk of that as well. It makes me so angry that Roman has to take care of himself and his father, where for most kids it’s the other way around.
Roman clears his throat. “Let’s get you dry,” he mumbles under his breath.
I’d been worried that he would send me home the moment he saw me. Maybe if it hadn’t been raining, he would have. I smile to myself. Roman cares about me. He wants me to promise to never come here alone. I won’t. I’d never been so scared in my life. If it weren’t for the rain, I’m not sure if I would have made it here. Most people weren’t dumb enough to run around in it.
“Yeah, that would be great. I’m freezing.” I shiver because of how cold I actually am.
The wind had a slight chill to it when I had left home, and I’d been gone about twenty minutes before I realized the mistake I made with the weather. But I’d refused to turn back, not until I could see Roman with my own eyes.
