Page 111 of Beautiful Ruins
Izzy’s presence was less apparent than anyone else’s, but I felt it instantly.
The water shut off as I stepped out, grabbing a towel and dragging it over my hair before wrapping it loosely around my waist.
She stood near the doorway, arms folded, expression tight.Like she already knew what was coming.
“I’m sending you and Tone away.”
Her reaction was immediate.
“No.”
One word.Sharp.Final.
“This is not a discussion, Izzy.”
“It is if you’re talking about me like I’m a suitcase you can just relocate.”
My jaw clenched.
“This house is no longer secure.”
“It is literally the most secure place I have ever been in my life,” she shot back.“You have guards, cameras, reinforced walls, and a man with a cane that apparently doubles as an arsenal.”
“That is not the point.”
“Then what is the point, Raze?”she demanded, stepping closer.“That you’re scared?”
The word landed exactly where it hurt, quiet but precise.Because she wasn’t wrong.Fear was the very thing driving every decision that I was making.
“I am being cautious,” I clarified.
“You are being ruled by fear,” she lashed out.
Silence stretched between us.
“You think sending me away fixes this?”she screeched, voice rising now.“You think putting me somewhere far away where I sit and wait and wonder and imagine the worst is protection?”
“Yes.”
Her laugh was sharp and disbelieving.
“You can’t just discard me because something dangerous happened!”
“I am not discarding you.”
“That’s exactly what it feels like!”
Her eyes were bright now, furious and unyielding.
“You don’t get to decide I’m safer without you and just ship me off like that’s kindness,” she added.“You don’t get to let your fear make choices for both of us.”
My temper flared.
“My fear,” I repeated slowly, “is the only reason you are still breathing after today.”
“And I am still here because I chose to be!”she shouted.“Because I chose you.This house.This life.All of it!”
I stared at her.
