Page 53 of Your Fault

When we emerged from our hiding place, we saw the police cars. People were milling around the door, and even neighbors were there, scared or just interested in what was going on. Two guys had tried to rob us. They’d been caught red-handed and hadn’tmanaged to get away. The worst part was that they’d been armed, and that reminded me that Nick had been, too.

I didn’t say a word while he spoke to the cops and told them everything that had happened and how we’d escaped through the window. They wrote everything down, got the power back on, and told us we should go to the station to give a statement.

“You can take care of that tomorrow, Mr. Leister,” the policeman said, looking at me with worry. “Probably you should get some rest for now.”

“I hope they rot in jail,” Nicholas said, looking at the squad car as it departed our home.

After that, and a few conversations with the neighbors, the last policeman left, and everyone else followed suit. I called my mom to let her know what had happened.

“Tell Nick to stay at the house with you tonight,” she said, and while that surprised me, I felt a warm gratitude I hadn’t known for some time. “We’ll be there as soon as we can.”

When I hung up, Nick took me inside, locked the door, and keyed in the code for the alarm I hadn’t known existed. I swore then and there, I’d never leave it off.

“Let’s go to bed,” he said, grabbing my hand and walking upstairs.

In his room, he gave me a clean pajama T-shirt to wear. We changed clothes in silence, totally absorbed in our thoughts.

“If I hadn’t decided to come…” he said, and I saw the fear in his face. The images that had plagued my mind must now be plaguing his, I thought. “That’s why I want us to live together, so I can always be there when you need me.”

Now I saw it clearly: the sense of safety I felt with him, how good I felt when he was there… It was true what he was saying—I needed him. He was the one I trusted, the cure to my nightmares, the one who could scare my demons away.

“I’ll tell my mother, Nick, I promise,” I said, banishing all doubts from my mind. There was no denying it now: Nick was the guy I needed to be with. A genuine smile crossed his face, and he kissed my lips and hugged me tight. It was weird, being there in his room. We hadn’t spent much time together in those four walls because he had moved out almost as soon as we got together, but still, I thought of the first time we’d slept together…how nervous I’d been, how beautiful it had been. He had treated me as if I were made of glass… Now, the way we were with each other was so different… As time passed, everything seemed more intense, as if we needed more and didn’t know how to manage our desires…

“Come here,” he said.

I did as he asked, got into his bed, and curled up in the sheets, clinging to him and resting my head on his chest. The last thing I remember is that I was dreaming, but of something far more beautiful than before: him.

22

Nick

I woke up with Noah whispering into my ear.

“Nick…wake up.”

I didn’t open my eyes, I just grunted, and her tongue started slowly and softly caressing my jaw.

Shit.

“Nick,” she repeated several times as her hand crept down my chest and stopped for a moment on the dark hair on my belly.

“I’m beat, Freckles. If you want something, you’re going to have to try harder.”

It was strange to have Noah trying to get my attention that way. I was usually the one going after her. I liked this role reversal.

“I guess I’ll have to look for someone else,” she said then, getting my attention and putting me on alert. I felt her pull away, and I opened my eyes and pounced on her so fast, she couldn’t have gotten away if she’d wanted to.

She took a deep breath as I slid a hand under her T-shirt and squeezed one of her breasts.

“Freckles, we’ve hardly slept,” I said, my mouth descending to her neck. “What’s this early morning sexual harassment about?”

“You’re my boyfriend. I’m just trying to make you do your job,” she replied, pushing her hips into me and breathing hard against my bare shoulder.

“You can make me do my job as a boyfriend whenever you like, but hold still for a minute,” I said, immobilizing her on the bed. She was so small beneath me…! I wanted to kiss her slowly until we forgot everything, even our names. “You do know our parents might be here, right?”

I didn’t give a shit about our parents, but I decided to make her wait a little longer before I gave her what she wanted. In response, she wrapped her legs around my waist and squeezed me. “Since when do you care?”

I smiled in the shadows, and right away, her hand was on my pants, trying to get inside them, but I stopped her before I lost control.

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