Page 103 of The Widower
“Maybe you should let me… get to know you better. Think I’d be satisfied—or would I try to run away?” I teased, leaning even closer to his mouth.
He didn’t answer. He just pulled me into his arms, not giving me the slightest chance to step back.
Not that I wanted to.
Days went by, and every now and then, I found myself giving in to Colin.
I always try to see the good in people—no matter what—and I’m absolutely sure Colin has that side too, even if he hides it for reasons of his own. It’s probably because of the tragedy, but no matter how hard things have been, at some point, you have to move forward.
I was leaving the mansion with Joshua to take him to school when I decided it was finally time to put into practice something I’d been thinking about for a while.
“How about we try another test in the car?”
“Okay.”
We got into one of the cars, and once we were inside, I focused on his eyes.
“How about we drive around the block?”
Joshua hesitated for a few seconds.It was obvious he wasn’t completely comfortable with the idea.I was about to tell him we could try another day, but he spoke first. “I want to try.”
I nodded to Tito, and as soon as we turned the first corner and the car started moving, Joshua’s body stiffened. His hands began to tremble, and within seconds, he was breaking into a cold sweat.
“I… I’m scared,” he stammered, his eyes darting nervously toward the windows.
I immediately signaled for Tito to stop the car and got out with Joshua right away.
“There’s nothing wrong with being scared. One day, you’ll get past it.”
“What if I can’t?” he asked, his voice trembling with panic.
“You will. It just takes patience. Whenever you’re ready, I’ll be right here to try again with you.”
I’d arranged to meet Lauren at a café near the mansion. It had been a few days since we’d seen each other in person—we’d only been talking over WhatsApp.
We’d covered a lot of topics, from the vandalism at my house to day-to-day things, but, unsurprisingly, Colin had dominated most of our conversations.
“You like him.”
“I do. Colin has a good heart, even if he tries his hardest to prove otherwise.”
“No… correction: you’re in love with him.”
“Is that wrong?”
I wasn’t going to fight what I felt. My feelings for Colin were real.
“‘Wrong’ isn’t the word I’d use. More like dangerous. From what you’ve told me about him, he’s unpredictable—and he could easily do something you don’t expect.”
I thought about her words for a moment. Lauren wasn’t wrong. And then there was the fact that I was living in his house—which, whether I liked it or not, was very different from being in my own home.
“My biggest problem is that I can’t stay away from him… and I’m not even sure I want to.I feel like I have to help him somehow.”
“Have to?”She raised an eyebrow, confused.
“Don’t ask me why, but I feel like I’m breaking down his walls and… I don’t know, Lauren.” I sighed. “I’ve never been good at understanding emotions, and now’s definitely not the time I’m going to start.”
“And to think you used to hate the man…”
