Page 169 of The Casualty of Us
“Don’t you dare use the line on me that you just called your brother out on.”
She pauses, lips pursing and eyes holding mine, keeping the silence as well and making me warn her. “No lies, Ophelia. I mean it.” The little smattering of freckles across her nose does something weird to my heart just like always and has me taking a wild guess. “Is this about what you almost said on the phone?”
“What?” Her brows fall for real this time, and she shakes her head. “No, it’s not about—”
“Then what?” I push, voice dropping in frustration because that was my only card here. “Is it about what happened with Thomas? Is Kyler giving you trouble?”
“Wha—no, Hayes,” she sighs deeply, closing her eyes for a second and taking a breath before opening them with a fucking wall there. “Everything is—”
I drop a hand to her chin. “Don’tlie.” Her mouth pops open at the action, and I trail my fingers along her jaw, but…I need her to understand too. “I would break every rule for you, Ophelia. I would follow you into the damn river if that’s what you asked, but don’t ever lie to me again.” I reach my thumb up to make a soft pass over her lower lip, letting the words sink in. “Do you understand?”
Her eyes hold mine, something flickering in the backs of them that almost looks like respect before she breathes out. “Okay.” I can feel the word pass over my fingertip before she adds softly, “I understand.”
I lift a brow. “Is there anything you’d like to add?”
“Not particularly.” She shrugs. “If we’re being honest here.”
“Freckles.” I stop the way my lips want to twitch and drop my hand from her chin down to grab her hip. “You’re keeping something from me. I can feel it.”
“That’s disturbing.” She frowns, nose scrunching up at me. “Like actually very—”
“Ophelia.”
“I’m not lying.” Her face falls a bit before she takes another breath and seems to rally. “I’m not, I promise.”
“You’re also not saying anything,” I scoff in frustration. “You can twist it whichever way you want, but I still know you’re keeping something, and it’s driving me a little crazy, okay?” Her mouth opens, and I squeeze her hip. “No lies, Ophelia, I swear to God.” I drop my head down closer and wait until she blinks to demand, “Are you safe right now?”
Because there’s only one thing she would fight this hard to keep for me.
She’s got to be plotting something to do withhim.
Her gaze moves between mine a few times as she whispers, “I’m safe. Promise. I’m not doing anything…completely unhinged.”
“You are doing something, though?” I narrow my eyes and see the instant guilt in hers that gives me my answer. “Fucking hell, O—”
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You didn’t need to,” I growl, heart starting to fucking panic in my chest right along with the direction of my thoughts. “Either you start talking or I will plant my ass in Lincoln Park until you do.”
“You wouldn’t,” she hisses back, but the little bit of doubt filling her face is probably for the best because I absolutely would.
“Try me.” I laugh shortly. “Only one of us has bodyguards that care enough to know where they’re at.”
Her eyes fall to slits before she snaps, “That’s not fair.”
“I don’t care.”
“Fine, just…” she huffs, lip jutting out for a second and falling into a pout. “I’mnotnot doing anything, all right?” Barely giving me anything before she lifts her chin stubbornly. “It’s still more of a long shot as of now, but…if it progresses any further, I’ll tell you, okay?”
She’s still trying to wiggle her way out of it, though, and it has me taking a deep breath while working out how to handle this. Knowing it’s always a fine line with her.
“Just don’t tell anyone, okay?”
And there it is, that flash of fear again with the question because she’s scared someone is going to try and stop her.
That I might turn into the object in front of her train.
Every fear from over the summer comes rushing back suddenly with the realization that part of her never really stopped when we came back here. That somewhere in between falling even more in love with her behind closed doors…she made a move that I missed.
