Page 48 of Splintered Memories
I opened it in the next breath, so quick that Emersyn jumped from where she was sitting on the floor beside it.
My brows narrowed as I stared at her, confused. Her knees were tucked up to her chest, her back against the outside wall of my room. A blanket was draped over her lap and a pillow lay next to her.
We stared at each other for a beat. The tops of her cheekbones turned pink as she blinked up at me.
I cocked my head. “What are you doing?”
Her lips pursed as her flush deepened. She fisted the small blanket over her and drew back her shoulders.
“None of your concern,” she said, tone nonchalant.
I quirked an eyebrow. “The fact that you’re sitting outside of my bedroom is not my concern?”
“It’s my bedroom, actually,” she said, and then shook her head. “And no, it’s got nothing to do with you.”
I frowned. “I beg to differ.”
Although she seemed more like herself rather than that quiet, reserved woman from earlier, this wasn’t exactly normal behavior, either.
“There are still plenty of hours in the night.” I folded my arms over my chest, leaning against the doorframe. “The Emersyn I know would be working down in the studio until she couldn’t keep her eyes open anymore. She definitely wouldn’t be randomly chilling in the hallway.”
Emersyn looked down at her hands as she wrung a section of the blanket between her thumb and forefinger. “This isn’t just some random night,” she said, her voice low. “And I don’t feel like working.”
“I didn’t know you were capable of not working.”
She looked up at me with those vibrant green eyes, but a hint of fear flickered there. “I’m capable of a lot of things, August. Even caring about you.”
Her words lingered in the air before settling on the skin and seeping down into my chest. My heart quickened.
She was worried about me.
The realization was both flattering and devastating. I shouldn’t let myself care so much about her or what she thought of me. I shouldn’t let myself get closer than I already have. But…I wasn’t strong enough. One look into those wide, scared eyes of hers had all my resolve disintegrating.
The last thing I’d wanted to do was scare her.
My shoulders slumped as I let out a sigh. “I’m okay, Emersyn.”
“I know,” she said quickly. “But I wanted to make sure you stayed that way.”
I studied her, then the blanket and pillow. A thought hit me, and despite myself, a grin tugged up one side of my mouth. “Were you going to sleep outside of my bedroom door?”
The color on her face deepened to a shade that almost matched her hair. “Maybe.”
I shook my head in disbelief. “Go to your room, Emersyn.”
“No.”
“You’re not sleeping on the floor all night.”
She rolled her eyes. “You can’t tell me what to do. This is my house, and I will sleep wherever I want.” She settled back against the wall, as if to imply she were perfectly comfortable there.
I ran a hand through my hair. “I won’t be able to sleep if I know you’re on the damn floor.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Well, I’m not going to be able to sleep if I leave you all alone.”
We continued to stare at each other, and I knew that she would sooner die than back down. “Stubborn woman,” I muttered under my breath.
Her eyes flashed, but I didn’t give her time to respond before I pushed off the doorframe and gestured inside my room. “Come on in, then.”
