We Fall Like Ashes | Wildfire Series

Forty: Missed You

"Not gonna tell me the truth, huh?" he asked dryly.

I stiffened. "What do you mean?"

Fuck, I knew what he meant.

"Goddamnit, Collins." Beau rested his head against the wall, looking down his nose at me. He looked pained, and guilt flooded me. "You were about to fucking lie to me."

I swallowed. "You talked to Bren."

It wasn't a question. Sure, it could have been Madie or Nessa, but they didn't know who Denver was or the significance of him showing up like that. It was Bren.

"I talked to Bren." He heaved a sigh. "I went to his place first. Why the hell aren't you still there?"

"Because I told him you were almost home—which you were. I wanted to be here when you got back."

He frowned slightly—not the reaction I was hoping for. Beau took a step back, peeking down the hallway. "Is Nessa here?"

I gritted my teeth, knowing he wouldn't like the answer. "No."

"She's at Grayson's, right?" He didn't wait for a response before continuing. "Because she knows it's not a good idea to hang around alone when there's a creepy asshole in town trailing you."

Retreating again, I sat back down on my bed. "I get that your first interaction with Denver wasn't good—"

"—that's an understatement."

"—but he isn't going to hurt me, Beau. He wanted to talk. I told him I didn't want to talk. That was it."

Beau didn't like that answer. It was meant to reassure him, but at the same time, it was a defense of Denver. And I could tell that he hated that.

"I still don't like that he's following you around like that. Maybe another punch to the face will convince him to leave you the fuck alone."

Worry threaded through me at Beau's threat. "I don't like it, either. But I don't think—"

"I also don't like that you didn't tell me." His eyes fell to mine, pinning me with a glare. "I hate that you were clearly going to hide this."

"I would have told you, Beau."

"Would you have?"

God, the way he saw right through me. I probably wouldn't have, and he knew it.

Bren's words from last night bounced around in my head, but I couldn't help the urge to shy away. To tell Beau not to worry about it. To deal with it on my own. I wanted Beau to stay that happy-go-lucky guy he was when I first met him. I didn't want to turn him into someone he wasn't just because I couldn't handle my shit.

"This isn't a part of my life that you need to be involved in, okay?"

"No!" Beau's hand flew up, punching the air a little. "Not okay, Collins. I want to be involved in every part of your life. I don't want to hear shit like this from Bren; I want to hear it from you."

"Goddamnit, Bren," I muttered beneath my breath, which awarded me a slight chuckle from Beau.

"That's kinda how I feel about you right now, sweetheart. Not gonna lie."

I rolled my eyes, glancing away with the tiniest smile. Even when he was mad at me, he made me feel better somehow.

"I'm your boyfriend, baby." Beau finally kicked off the wall and walked toward me, closing the distance between us. "I want to know every little part of your day. I want to know the good and the bad. For crying out loud, I want to know when someone is trying to hurt you."