Page 55 of Twisted Redemption

He grunts before hanging up.

Rolling my eyes, I glance at the clock on my phone while re-joining my call with the girls. I left about an hour and a half ago. I was retracing my steps through the neighborhood before I decided to come into the woods.

Damn. Did it really take me that long to explain my shitshow of a life to them? I guess there is a lot to go through.

“He upset?” Liling is grinning, like she’s enjoying this.

“Of course he is,” I say with a sigh and start back toward the house. “I was really hoping he’d sleep for longer. He needs it.”

“Careful there, or you’re going to start sounding like you care,” Imani teases.

I stop. And I can’t erase the hurt from my voice as I say, “I’ve never stopped caring. Or regretting.”

“Oh, babe,” Liling says. “Do you think he’ll ever come around?”

“I keep hoping. He’s so hot and cold. It’s messing with my head.”

We speculate for a few minutes on Blaze’s actions until a twig snaps somewhere in front of me. Fear spikes in my chest.

“You good, hon?”

I peer through the trees, freezing as a large figure runs into view. But I relax as I take in a head full of shoulder-length, dirty blond hair.

“Blaze?”

He comes to a stop in front of me. His eyes are panicked, and the fear in my chest is replaced with guilt.

“End the call,” he says, ripping away my earbuds.

“Hey! You can’t just—Blaze!”

He grabs my phone and presses the end button himself. Then he stuffs it into his pocket, the earbuds still hanging out, before grabbing me and pulling me against his chest.

One of his hands presses against my upper back while the other cradles the back of my head. His fingers wind through my hair as he presses his face into it. He inhales deeply, like he needs to breathe me in to live.

“Fuck.” His voice is unsteady. “Don’t do that again. Please, Daisy.”

I try to push away from him, but he just holds me tighter.

“Please. I woke up and you were gone. I thought—” He swears again, bending down and resting his head on my shoulder.

My heart aches. Why can’t he be like this all the time? Why can’t we go back to the way things used to be? I lost my chance to have more with Blaze, and I’ll have to find a way to accept it. But I still want him. Even if it’s just as friends.

“I didn’t want to wake you,” I whisper.

Don’t snap at me. Please don’t snap at me.

“Just promise me, Daisy.”

My arms wrap around his waist. “I won’t go out without you again.”

He relaxes into me. I feel him press a kiss to my shoulder, and I shiver.

“I’m sorry,” I say into his chest. “I didn’t think you’d wake up.”

He presses another kiss to my neck. This time, his lips linger on my skin. “I’m surprised I stayed asleep for that long, honestly.”

I frown but don’t say anything. I’m too terrified that I’ll mess this up. And all I want to do is stay in this moment forever, even if he’s doing things he shouldn’t be doing.

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