Page 35 of The Sound Of Silence

“Pleasant run?” Pippa asks, drawing Willow’s attention.

“What?” she says, removing the earbuds from her ears before taking a sip of her water.

“I asked if you had a pleasant run?”

“Oh, yes. I did, thanks. I needed to run off some…things. It worked.” Her eyes briefly flash to mine, and she shakes her head as though ridding herself of some thoughts.

“I’m going to grab a shower and then I can fix us all breakfast.”

“Don’t worry,” I say, jumping up. “I’ve got it. You take your time.” I need to keep myself busy and not feel like I’m indebted to her for allowing us to stay here.

After breakfast, Pippa disappears to make some phone calls, leaving Willow and me alone.

She sets about doing the dishes, while I fold up the sheets on the couch. The silence between us is awkward, but I’m not sure if it’s because I have so many thoughts running through my head or because she’s actually uncomfortable with me being here.

I’m about to tell her I’ll get out of her hair when she talks first. “Your speech was wonderful last night,” she says, somewhat shyly, raking her long blonde mane through her fingers. She opens her mouth to say more but I cut her off.

“Thanks. I’m sure happy it’s done and dusted.”

She huffs out a laugh, but says nothing more, thankfully understanding my attempt at moving on. She continues with her cleaning until she pauses again. “I looked up buttercups.”

My eyes flash to hers as a small smirk pulls at my lips. “Of course you did. And…”

“And…You think I’m poison?” Guess it didn’t take long to figure out what I was alluding to.

“Or maybe I just think you’re full of… sunshine.”

“Not a bad thing to be full of. But no, it’s definitely the poison thing. Question is, why?”

“Because you could ruin me,” I blurt, without thinking it through.Dammit. I wince. Nothing like handing someone a loaded gun. Even if my statement isn’t entirely accurate.

“Is that why you’ve been such an ass? To warn me away? To protect yourself?”

“No.”

“No?”

“No… I’ve been doing that to protectyou.”

Willow’s breath hitches as her eyes bounce between mine, undoubtedly looking for the truth in my words. I stare back at her. Unwavering. Because if she’s looking to catch me in a lie, it’s not going to happen. Though I meant what I said—she could ruin me—the thing is… I could destroy her. In a heartbeat. If that’s what I wanted. And maybe I should, because the alternative could be much worse.

“Oooh, so you think you’re dangerous,” Willow teases, the corner of her lip lifting into a smile. She has this shy and innocent thing going on ninety-five percent of the time, but with me, she’s got spark. “Are you worried I’m going to fall in love with you only for you to break my heart?”

She’s mocking the situation, but I wish that were the case. If this was just about her falling in love with me, life would be easy. I couldn’t give two fucks about people’s feelings toward me. But it’s better she believes that than knows the truth.

“Sure thing, Buttercup. That’s it.” I wince again because I really shouldn’t be using that name. It keeps slipping out without me realizing it, and it needs to stop.

Willow’s lips thin and her brows furrow, but if she sees through my attempt to appease her, she doesn’t say it.

“Oh…kay. Well, I’m off to work. Do you need anything before I go?”

Why does that statement fill me with so much relief?

“No, I’m good. But thanks.”

She walks away without another word but pauses at the door, her hand clenching around the handle before she shakes her head. “You’re a good guy, Jesse. I don’t know why you try so hard to convince people otherwise.” She chuckles to herself before leaving, freezing me in place as her words hit me.

God, I wish that were true.

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