Page 22 of My Girl to Protect
But what if she doesn’t. I shake my head. If she’d rather stay, then leaving means leaving her—and that doesn’t sit right. Not at all.
“Yeah,” I mutter, running a hand through my hair. “This just got complicated.”
Chapter Six
Cammi
It’s been four days.
Four days of heading to Noah’s apartment like it’s the most natural thing in the world. Four days of falling asleep in his arms and waking up tangled in him, his warmth wrapped around me like a shield against everything I’ve ever known. Four days of pretending this is just temporary—just something easy, something that won’t leave a mark.
It already has.
“You’re smiling again,” Millie says from across the laundry room, narrowing her eyes as she folds a towel.
I look away fast, trying to hide it. “Am not.”
“Are too,” Millie shoots back, stepping closer. “You’ve been smiling like that for days now. It’s suspicious.”
“It’s not suspicious.” I busy myself with rearranging things that don’t need it. “I’m just…sleeping better.”
Millie snorts. “Sleeping better because of Noah, you mean.”
I don’t answer. Don’t need to.
Millie’s grin widens. “Oh my God. You like him.”
“I didn’t say that.”
“You didn’t have to.”
I exhale, my shoulders dropping slightly. “It’s not like that.”
“Then what is it like?”
I hesitate. Because how do I explain something I barely understand myself? “It’s just…” I start, my voice low. “He makes me feel safe.”
Millie’s expression softens.
“And I help him sleep,” I add quickly, like that balances things out. “That’s all it is.”
Millie raises a brow. “Right. Because people totally sneak into each other’s beds every night just for…sleep.”
I roll my eyes, cheeks warming. “It’s not just that,” I admit softly. “He…he makes me feel things. Things I didn’t think I’d ever get to feel.”
Millie doesn’t interrupt this time. Doesn’t tease me. She just listens.
“And it’s scary,” I continue, fingers twisting together. “Because what if it’s not real? What if it doesn’t last?”
“What if it does?” she counters gently.
I look away. The hope in her eyes makes me want to believe I could have what I want. “People like me don’t get that kind of ending, Millie.”
“People like you deserve it more than anyone.”
I don’t respond. Because there’s a name sitting heavy on my chest. A shadow I can’t shake.Rick. He still texts from different numbers. Still threatens. It’s a constant reminder that what I have with Noah isn’t real. I can’t allow it to be.
I don’t say that to Millie. She’d only pull Noah and Wilder into it, and I’ve brought them enough trouble already. I’ll take the time I have with Noah and let him go when I have to. A sharp pain lances through my chest at the thought.
