Page 152 of Catch Me
I place my hand into his, allowing him to help me stand. My legs wobble but I manage to stand on my own. Andreas still wraps an arm around my waist to support me.
“Thank you,” I whisper. My head is too fuzzy to explain that it’s not just his help down the stairs that I’m thanking him for.
As soon as I make it into the backseat of the car, I close my eyes and let my back rest against the leather. Keeping my eyes closed is the only way I can keep the tears from streaming down my face. I’ll do that once I’m alone.
When it’s just me is when I’ll let myself cry for all of the ways I’ve let myself and Andreas down tonight.
CHAPTER 45
Ivy
“Vee, you have to be hungry,” Mya says through my bedroom door. “You’ve barely eaten in two days.”
The strain in her voice increases the heaviness in my chest, as I tuck myself deeper into a ball underneath my blanket. It’s been two days since the premiere, and I’ve barely left my room since I insisted Andreas drop me off here instead of his place.
“You know that man’s going to return in five minutes with enough food to feed the entire building,” Mya continues. “We don’t have enough room in the refrigerator.”
Meow.
Ms. Shelby’s purring pushes through the door, too.
“Even the cat misses you,” Mya says. “I know you need your space right now, but at least let me send Ms. Shelby in there with you.”
For two days I requested to be alone. Mya, Andreas, and Ari have all hung around though, none of them allowing me complete solitude for too long. I want to get out of the funk that’s settled over me since the night of the premiere, but I just keep replaying the events of that night over and over.
My mind keeps racing with thoughts of how I would do things differently if I could go back to that night. Maybe I would’ve even skipped the premiere all together, knowing that Andreas would be better off without me there.
The tightness in my chest grows, making the muscles in my stomach ache.
This is just like graduation all over again.
No, now it’s worse because not only did I embarrass myself I made a fool out of Andreas. His night became about me and my problems.
“Ivy?” Mya calls again.
I push out a heavy breath. “Okay. Send her in.”
A second later the bedroom opens a few inches, and Ms. Shelby enters. She comes right up to my bed, purring. Her big, blue eyes peering up at me, patiently waiting for me to make room for her.
I oblige by scooting over. She leaps onto the bed and folds her body into the space I just created.
Ms. Shelby nudges my chest with her head a couple of times. Her purrs of satisfaction sound off as I begin stroking the top of her head. She moves in closer.
“You don’t hate me, right?” I ask as if she would understand what’s going on.
She licks one of her paws and begins cleaning herself. For some reason that makes me smile.
A second later, I hear the apartment door open and close. Andreas’ murmured voice floats to my ears. Ms. Shelby hears him, too, and she looks eagerly toward the door then back at me, expecting me to get up and go to him.
“I want to,” I tell her. “But I can’t.”
I don’t know if I can look him in the eyes right now. After his refusal to leave the night of the premiere, I’ve accepted he’s not going anywhere, but it hurts to look at him.
When I start to tell Ms. Shelby this, there’s another knock on the bedroom door. “Baby?”
My heartbeat increases from the sound of his voice.
“I know you’re not ready to come out yet, but I got something for you. I’ll slide it under the door,” he says in a tone so full of understanding that it brings tears to my eyes.
