Page 135 of Run
CHAPTER 43
ARI
The Ducati engine can be heard all the way up the street as Ethan makes his way home, and it’s a welcome sound. He’s been gone for half the day and when I texted earlier to ask if he was hungry for pizza, he responded with “ravenous.” Just that one word gave me hope.
“What’s that grin for?” Fonz asks as he comes to stand next to me by the window, watching Ethan pull in the driveway.
I lift a hand to my mouth to feel my smile, making sure it’s not an illusion. “I think we’re going to make it.”
Fonz drapes an arm over me. “Ari, I’ve known you two would end up together since you were kids. You guys were written in the stars and all that shit.”
A moment passes. “What about you and Matt? Are you guys written in the stars?”
“No.” His answer is quick. “Matt and I are written in graffiti on the side of a decommissioned railroad bridge.”
“Why do you say that?”
“Because all we do is fight. But the chemistry is off the hook, so we cool off for a few days and then are right back at it again.”
“Ah, the perils of a toxic relationship.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “I’m sorry, Fonz.”
He shrugs. “It is what it is, until one of us tires of it.”
When Ethan comes inside, a ghost of a smile crosses his face when he sees Fonz and I leaned into one another, waiting for him to come home. And then it falls when, I assume, he takes in my darkening bruises. He slowly crosses the room and kisses the top of my head before disappearing into the bathroom.
Baby steps.
The pizza arrives and the three of us dig in as if we haven’t had a meal in a week. Fonz fills us in on how the family business is doing these days, Ethan goes off about one of the salespeople at work who “doesn’t respect deadline,” and I tell the guys how Sophie and I are going to have some girl time this week. I called her shortly after Ethan left, and she read me the riot act. How that girl is still friends with me, I will never understand.
Eventually, Fonz stands and tosses our paper plates into the empty pizza box and picks it up.
“I can get it.” I start to stand, but Ethan places his hand on top of mine on the table. Our eyes meet, and although we say nothing, I know exactly what he’s trying to communicate to me.
Change.
I stay seated, and instead ball up my napkin and toss it into the empty chicken wing container, pushing it toward the other side of the table where Fonz is cleaning up. “Thanks,” I say before he heads out to the garage with the garbage.
Yawning, I glance out the window. It’s only just starting to get dark but I can barely keep my eyes open. “I’m going to go lay down.” I risk a glance at Ethan, who gives me a stiff nod.
When I get to our bedroom, I crawl onto my side of the bed and pull the sheet over me, facing the wall. It’s not long before I hear the soft click of the door opening and closing behind me.
“Can I join you?” Ethan asks softly from the other side of the room.
I smile into my pillow. “It’s your bed,” I say playfully.
“No, Red. It’s our bed.” Ethan’s belt jingles as he undoes it, and I hear shuffling as he discards his pants. The bed dips behind me, and the sheets pull slightly as he settles in. But I don’t feel his touch. And, dammit, I ache for it.
Trying to control my breathing, I silently will him to reach for me.Touch me … Please, touch me …
But instead, I go without.
We both lay awake. I know he’s awake. Just breathing. Thinking. Finally, I feel the tingling of my scalp when my hair moves, and I know he’s touching it. I imagine his fingers running through it. It must eventually put me to sleep because suddenly I’m startled awake to the sounds of grunts coming from Ethan, who is wrapped around me like a boa constrictor. His fists clench and unclench handfuls of my shirt, head thrashing back and forth against my chest.
“Ethan.” I run my hands over his bare back and shoulders. “Wake up.”
“No!” he shouts in his sleep. “Stop it. I said STOP!”
“Ethan!” I say louder, sitting up with him draped across my lap. “You’re having a dream. Wake up!” I tap the side of his face with my open hand a few times, and he wakes with a jolt.
