Page 241 of Call the Shots
I pressed my forehead against the door, taking deep breaths. This was the only solution I could think of. I was overwhelmed and so tired, but I had to focus. Carefully, I inched down the hallway.
Xavier’s door was open a little. Inside, he was asleep. Against the wall was the glass cabinet full of awards, including the ones he used to have in his office. He must’ve moved those. Probably he was worried about me ransacking his office again. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes.
His laptop was on the desk. Carefully, I slid it across the wood, closer and closer to me.
“I’m awake, June.”
My stomach dropped.Oh, shit.
Xavier shifted up. “Is this it or do you have something else planned?”
I let go of the laptop.
“Smart choice.” He patted the blankets. “Come to bed. You’ll get used to this.”
“I need a glass of water,” I managed and shut the door behind me.Fuck—this was too much—I had to leave. I took to the stairs two at a time, almost stumbling at the bottom.
A hand reached out and I jerked away. “Don’t touch me!”
“Sorry—I thought you were going to fall?—”
Bear.
Overwhelmed, I dropped my bag and threw my arms around him. Panic hit me full-force and Bear was my safe place. I didn’t care that we weren't together anymore.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m sorry—” I blubbered. “I need to go home?—”
“I didn’t mean to scare you—I was coming upstairs to talk to you.”
I pulled away. “What?”
“Paisley texted me. She sent me these paragraphs, apologizing for everything.”
On my run out of his dad’s house, the most shocking thing was to hear that. I stared up at him in the darkness, fumbling with my words. “Because—because she’s threatened with a lawsuit?—”
“I don’t think so. She apologized for everything,” he said quietly. “Stuff she didn’t need to.”
“Did you message her back?”
“No, I don’t have anything to say to her.”
“Bear, she wants you to back off, that’s all this is?—”
“What if she’s changed and this is an actual apology?”
“Do youreallybelieve that?”
“I believe people can change if they want to. Because I’m changing. I can feel it.”
My chest twinged. “That’s different.”
“I don’t know what’s going on here, but you didn’t have to leave RV. I just needed some time to clear my head. June, I don’t care that you made fun of me. That was months ago and you’re the only one who gets to?—”
“No.No.Even if you did upload your nudes, it was so shitty of me and so wrong.” I stepped to the staircase, twisting my hands. “I didn’t feel good about it, I knew it wasn’t right, but I didn’t stop it.”
“This is what couples do,” he said firmly. “They argue and they talk and they get past it. This is our first real couple’s fight, so we didn’t know what to do.”
