“Then you’re not dreaming.”
“Good,” I said gruffly, pulling her a little bit closer to me and she didn’t resist.
When my fingers brushed over her skin at the base of her neck, she stiffened and I watched as her wall came down hard, her eyes going cold as her hands released my shirt and pushed against my chest.
“Don’t,” I whispered when she pushed a little harder and I gritted my teeth against the urge to crush her to me, to keep her curled against me forever with that soft expression on her face.
“Let me go,” she said and the deadness of her voice was an arrow to the chest.
With a supreme amount of effort, I obeyed, letting her pull back from me until she was sitting on the edge of the bed with her feet dangling over the edge and her spine ramrod straight. “Cory,” I said between gritted teeth.
“What?”
“What are you doing?”
She shrugged, not turning to face me. “It’s morning. I’m going home.”
“Cory─”
“For last night, for letting me stay here...” her voice was smooth and even, controlled but there was a hint of vulnerability there that she rarely let anyone see. Maybe she wasn’t showing me intentionally this time either but I heard it. She turned her head slightly until I could see the side of her face, showing me her smooth cheek that was rosy from sleep and her small nose sloped towards her lips which were turned down slightly at the corners. “Thank you, Flynn.”
With that she stood up and took a step away from the bed, away from me.
I was standing and gripping her wrist gently in my hand before I was even aware that I’d moved. “Just wait.”
“For what?” she asked with her usual snark.
I ran my free hand through my hair as I tried to think, to get my brain to function. “I don’t know, I just feel like after last night─”
“You said you’d forget about that,” she said, whirling to face me, her eyes fierce as she yanked on her wrist, forcing me to let go.
My spine stiffened and my eyes narrowed on hers. “No, I didn’t. Just like I’m not forgetting about this.” I reached up and lightly brushed my fingers across the bruises on her neck, a bolt of rage making me grit my teeth at the thought of someone hurting her.
She jerked back from me as if I’d burned her.
“Let it go, Flynn,” she said quietly but firmly, her eyes focused to the side, giving me her profile once again.
“No.” My hands clenched into fists at my sides. Look at me, dammit.
“Why not?” she asked, her voice firm but I could still hear that hint of vulnerability there, like she was afraid of my answer.
YOU ARE READING
She's Bad News
Teen FictionWhen Corinna Evans' mother is sent to prison, Corinna has nowhere else to go so she moves back in with her father and his family. Determined to make it through these last few months of school, she only wants to keep a low profile and get by but som...
Chapter 18
Start from the beginning
