Page 156 of Time To Learn

I try to be as silent as possible as I move around the flat and pick up my clothes.

When Kristian raises his voice, I look at him in surprise.

It’s so bloody difficult to eavesdrop on someone when you don’t understand the language they speak, but judging from his turned-down lips and the tense look of his shoulders, the thought that he’s having some kind of argument with his mother enters mymind.

I turn my back on him as I shake out my flannel shirt and put it on, trying not to let on how curious I am. Kristian deserves his own space.

“Fuck,” he shouts behind me, startling me, and I glance at him over my shoulder.

The anger he shows doesn’t scare me, but the sadness in his eyes as he stares at me makes me feel as if I have to brace myself.

I wrap my arms around my middle as I straighten my back. He runs both his hands over his head as he blinks furiously, and I can almost feel my heart stop beating.

“Baby? What’s wrong?” I whisper.

“Laura, I…” he starts and breathes deeply before he tosses the blankets away and stands up from the bed. Heart lodged in my throat, I wait with bated breath for him to tell me what’s going on. My eyes follow every step he takes to the dresser, where he grabs a fresh set of black jeans and a white T-shirt and puts them on. Barefoot, he walks towards me, and my breath catches at the sight of anguish in his eyes as he looks down atme.

“Kristian?” I ask, really feeling scared now. “Talk to me. What’s goingon?”

“Sweetheart,” he whispers, startling me at the ache I can hear in the husky rumble I’ve come to know andlove.

“Just tell me,” I beg. “You’re freaking meout.”

He frames my face in his hands and automatically I raise my hands to hold on to his strong arms. I’m glad I do, because his next words pierce through my heart, leaving me battered and broken. Defeated and desolate.

“I have to leave you, Laura.” His voice breaks on my name. “I have to gohome.”