Page 73 of Quiet Rage
“You look good.”
“You look…” I take in his appearance. There are dark circles under his eyes, his face looks a little leaner, like he has lost some weight, and his hair is a little longer than usual, as if he missed his last haircut. “You look stressed.”
“Yeah, I don’t doubt that.” It’s not much of an explanation, but I don’t ask about it. I have more important questions on my mind.
“What are you doing here, and how did you even find me?”
Kellen smirks and shrugs his shoulders.
“Have you been watching me?”
“I have been keeping an eye on you, yes,” he admits shamelessly.
I don’t know how to feel about that. Logically, I should be freaking out, maybe be angry at him, but instead I’m just confused.
“So you have been stalking me?” I ask, wondering how often he has been around without me knowing.
“If that’s what you want to call it.”
“Is that why you look so tired?”
“I have a lot going on right now,” he explains. “My father is dead.”
“Oh…I’m sorry,” I say because that’s the first thing that comes to my mind. I didn’t like the guy, but he was still Kellen’s dad.
“Don’t be. I’m certainly not,” he says in a cold voice, and immediately I know—Kellen killed his own father.
I stare at him, dumbfounded, as what he told me sinks in.Kellen’s father is dead. He’s gone, and we’re safe.
“He confessed to murdering my mother,” Kellen adds after a while.
“Oh my god.” I didn’t think I could hate the man even more, but now I do.
“I took over my father’s business,” Kellen explains. “Some of the men were only loyal to him and didn’t take the change in leadership well. I’ve been dealing with that for the last few weeks. That’s why I look…and…feel like shit.”
“I’m sorry you have to deal with all of that,” I say honestly, wishing I could help somehow.
“It’s okay. It won’t be like this forever.” He gives me a small smile. “Things are changing for the better. I’m excited about the future.”
“Yeah? What do you think the future looks like for you?” I ask, genuinely curious.
“I can definitely see you in it,” Kellen replies, catching me off guard. “You can come back to Wicked Falls.”
I shake my head before he finishes the sentence. “No. I can’t. There are too many bad memories.”
“Everything will be different now. My dad is gone, and there is no one controlling me anymore,” he says, like that would fix the past. “I want you to come back. I miss you.”
His confession raises some twisted feelings inside of me. “I thought we agreed to no more pretending.”
“It wouldn’t be. It will be real this time.” Kellen leans forward, looking deep into my eyes when he speaks his next words. “Tamson, I want to be with you because I’m in love with you.”
All the air leaves my lungs at once as I stare at him in disbelief. “You can’t mean that.”
“I do,” he insists. “I know I’ve done terrible things to you, and I’ll spend the rest of my life making it up to you, but you have to believe me. I love you, and I will never, ever do anything again to hurt you. I swear I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure you're happy and safe.”
My heart aches, and my eyes tear up. He just promised me everything I yearn for. Happiness, safety, and love. This is all I ever wanted, but how can I accept those things with him? I can’t. No matter how much I want to.
“Kellen…I don’t think I can love you back.”
