Soft || 18+ Reverse Harem ||

17 - Strong

. . .

Dahlia

I was sad, I realized as the anxiety subsided. I was really sad. I don't know why Evan kept wanting to do something with me. Did he still love me? Had he ever even loved me? He loved money more than me, I knew that.

But...everyone loved money more than they loved anyone. The world was materialistic. I couldn't blame Evan.

Even though I knew I wouldn't have let go of his hand for any amount of money.

Because I was an idiot. A fool who'd give up everything just to have someone smile at her. I hated myself for a lot of reasons, tolerated myself for less, and loved myself for none.

Even ice cream couldn't make me happy.

But, Andros was helping.

I tucked my legs under me on the bench, discarding my heels on the ground. Andros' arm was wrapped around my shoulders.

This felt...nice.

"Do you still love him?" He asked quietly. He wasn't eating anything. He had just gotten one for me and was now eyeing mine.

I dug the spoon into it. "How much can you love someone who breaks your heart?"

"A lot."

"Well, then." I shrugged. "Can you love someone and hate them at the same time?"

"I wouldn't know," He said. "I've never been in love, Dahlia."

His one hand paused at the space a little lower than my waist and he pushed me up till I was sitting on his lap. I looked at him, frozen for a moment. And then he grinned.

"What?" He asked. "I like you on my lap, Dahlia. See? You fit perfectly." His giant arms wrapped around me and his nose nudged mine. "I wanted to hold you like this, you know?" He murmured. "But you ran away. I have to say, Dahlia. It took everything in me to not hunt you down."

"I didn't run away," I mumbled. "I just...left."

"You didn't let us take care of you." His large hand brushed my hair away from my shoulder. The dress had spaghetti straps. His thumb brushed right where he had left marks with his teeth and lips as if he could see them under the makeup.

"Take care of me?" I asked.

"Yes," he replied, rubbing the makeup away. I didn't protest. "We would have put you in a bath, eaten dinner with you, perhaps even drunk. I don't like that we touched you and then you ran away." He kissed my jaw. "Did we do something wrong, Dahlia? Did you not like our touch?"

"No- I loved it," I whispered. "I did, I promise. I just got... overwhelmed."

"Did you?" He murmured, kissing my cheek. "Next time, you will stay. And if you get overwhelmed, we will help you." He kissed the corner of my lips. "I won't touch you again like that if you do not promise to stay, Dahlia. I hate feeling like I did something wrong to you."

"Why?"

"I don't know," He admitted. "Something must be in the air."

I laughed. "In the air?"

"In the air," he responded and then, gently, pressed his lips on mine.

. . .

I should have known Evan would do something. He was nothing if not a little bitch. And he was entitled. The man had not been rejected his whole life, how could I have expected him to not do anything after I rejected him?

I saw across from my mom as she knitted. Her eyes were focused on the tv, but I knew at any moment she was going to start. I braced myself, taking in long breaths to make up for the bursts of anxiety I was sure to feel soon enough. I fiddled with the zip of my skirt. I was wearing a black one, with a white shirt that had little pink paw prints on it. A gift from Emily ages ago. But almost all of this was covered with a giant black coat I was yet to hang.