Page 173 of Please Open Me
“You sure? You haven’t looked at me all day, and now you’re crying.” He laughed awkwardly. “It’s kind of concerning.”
Gravity pulled my lips into a frown as I rubbed my eyes.
“It’s hormones,” I sniffled.
Lucian didn’t look convinced. His thumb brushed my cheek, calloused and familiar, a touch I used to live for
“Okay,” he whispered. “But if it’s more than that… I’m here.”
My throat closed up.
I hated him for this. For not being all bad. For not being easy to walk away from. For showing up sober and warm and acting like the man I always thought he was.
He leaned forward and pressed the softest kiss to my temple. Like it was instinct.
“I’ll be quick,” he promised. “No need to cry.”
I nodded and batted at my eyes with the back of my hands. Once more, Lucian kissed me, only this time he turned to leave. For some reason, I couldn’t leave it at that, like my soul knew I needed to say one last thing to him.
“Hey Luci,” I said, my voice not quite my own.
He looked back over his shoulder, hand braced on the doorway.
“You know I’ll always love you, right?”
Lucian froze, staring at me like he’d never seen me before, then his eyes found mine. He gave me a soft, crooked smile and chewed his lip for a beat.
“I know, Kitten,” he said, and that was it.
He walked out of the kitchen, leaving me to have a mental breakdown in peace, or at least, I could have if my phone hadn’t started buzzing.
Still leaning against the counter, I glanced down at the screen.
Mattie.
My stomach dropped. I hadn’t spoken to her in days, and now she was texting again? My fingers shook as I swiped my thumb across the screen to unlock it and read her messages.
Stay out of Hartwood.
I know how bad this sounds, but for the love of God, don’t come back.
My mouth dried and I picked up the phone before trying to call her. But, the line rang exactly once before saying her number was no longer in service.
A strange, paranoid fear speared through my chest.
I stared at the phone screen, at the dead call log, the hollowclickof disconnection still echoing in my ears. The floorboards creaked behind me, and suddenly, the world was too much all at once.
My throat closed. My ears rang.
She’s gone.
She’s in danger.
Something waswrong.
“Hey,” came Sebastian’s voice. “Mason?”
I flinched. My fingers tightened around the phone. I looked back to see him standing in the doorway. His hair was wet, and a towel was slung low around his waist.
