Page 62 of Heartless Lord
Panic flared at the thought of facing him. I was going to break the news over the phone like a big coward. “What? Right now?”
A thunk vibrated my bedroom wall, and my eyes snapped toward the window. The top rung of a ladder appeared through the glass.Shit. “I’ve been texting you for the past hour. Don’t you ever check your phone?”
“Kill, this isn’t a good idea. I’m still contagious.”
“I’ll stay far away, okay? I have big news, and I need to tell you in person.” The line cut off, and the squeak of the ladder rungs sent my pulse skyrocketing.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
I darted out of bed and raced into the bathroom, tightening the tie around my robe. Dragging my hand through my hair, I forced the wild auburn waves back, then splashed some water on my face.
“Hey, Red, where the hell are you?” Killian’s voice seeped through the bathroom door.
I stared at the light wood separating us and heaved in a steadying breath. You can do this; just tell him. Forcing my feet forward, I twisted the knob and whipped it open.
Killian stood in front of my bed, the adorable smile curling his lips sending a knife to my heart before it was smothered by a frown. “Shit, you look like death, Red.” He pulled me into a hug, squeezing me against his solid chest. He’d been my anchor through the worst years with my mom, and hurting him would be like carving out my own heart. Heat burned my eyes as he held me, and it took everything I had not to break down again.
“You were supposed to stay away from me.” I glared up at him and pushed out of his arms, despite every bone in my body screaming at me to stay put and revel in this moment. What I was about to tell him could change everything.
Piercing green eyes locked on mine, a wry grin curling those perfect lips. “I can’t help myself sometimes.”
I took a big step back and wrapped my arms across my chest, flesh and blood armor to prepare for the storm to come. “There’s something I have to tell you,” I forced out.
“Wait, me first.” His smile widened and gawd damn it, it was the most beautiful thing I’d seen in days. “Stan proposed to my mom.”
My stomach dropped.
“We’re moving to Maine.”
My heart sank next, plummeting to the soles of my feet. “What?” I rasped out as my world unraveled.
He closed the distance between us and took my trembling hands in his warm ones. “Oh Red, it’s not that bad. I came up with an idea... Stan has some great connections. He can get us into some amazing boarding school and?—”
“Us?” I blurted.
Killian’s head bounced up and down. “I want you to come with us. There are scholarships, and you’re so smart you’d have no problem getting one.”
“Killian...” My head whipped back and forth. “I can’t.”
“But why? You always said how badly you wanted to get out of San Carlo, and now you can. A whole year early. It won’t even matter that you missed your ACTs.”
Nausea crawled up my gut, my stomach churning so badly, I was a second away from puking. There was no way I’d be able to get the dreaded words out now. There was only one thing to do. “Stop, Killian. Just stop!” I dragged my hands across my face, sucking in a desperate breath. “Please, stop talking.”
He stared at me, dark brows furrowed and a slight tremble to his lower lip. “What’s wrong?”
“Killian...” My voice shook.
“What is it? You’re scaring me, Red.”
My throat burned as the words clawed their way out. “Your mom’s new fiancé tried to rape me.”
CHAPTER 21
IS SOMEONE JEALOUS?
Killian
“Where’s your roommate?”
