Page 114 of Ruthless Sin
Distant.
His eyes go somewhere I can’t follow.
I don’t say anything. I stay still.
Why.
I don’t say the word. I hold.
He pulls back.
He doesn’t push me off. He moves his arm out from under my head, slow, careful, and sits up.
He swings his legs off the bed.
He sits on the edge of the mattress with his back to me.
I wait.
His shoulders don’t move.
“Nico.”
He stays still.
“Nico.” Flat. “Look at me.”
His right hand goes to the back of his neck.
My chest is tight. My throat is tight. Something is wrong and it’s the name — it’s my name in his mouth and now he won’t face me and I don’t know what that means but I know it’s bad. I know it’s the worst thing that’s happened in this bed.
“Look at me,” I say again.
The hand stays at the back of his neck.
He looks at the floor.
His shoulders tense.
I sit up. I pull the sheet up to my collarbone. The chain at my throat moves with my breath.
I wait.
Maybe I said too much.
Maybe I’m falling alone.
He turns his head one half-turn.
He doesn’t look at me fully.
His voice comes out broken.
“Mila.”
He stops. He breathes out.
“I knew your sister.”
