My husband spends another hour with me at my parents'. I'm watching him with a barely there smile on his face, shaking my head with astonishment at him whenever I catch his eyes.
He gives me a secretive smile, like he knows even if I've caught him I wouldn't punish him.
I sigh. He wasn't wrong.
When it's late, Kri 'drops me off' to my room. He lays the bag I had brought to the side of my bed and stands with his fists on his hips.
He's glaring almost darkly at the floor, brows furrowed. I wait, patiently.
He looks at me, "Come here." He says.
I raise a brow, "Why don't you come here?" I ask.
His eyes narrow as shadows wrap around my waist and lift me clear off the floor. I only gasp in surprise, but am otherwise unharmed, the shadows almost affectionate in their hold. I'm brought back to my own feet right before him, my hands braced on his arms for support.
"Kri." I huff, when the shadows slide away with a parting caress.
He just leans his head against mine, letting out a breath.
"Say the word," he says, "I'll take you back. Be it now or seven hours from now."
I close my eyes too. "This isn't about whether I want to come home or not. There's never a question about that. This is about you."
He leans back, a soft look in his eyes.
"You called it home." He smiles sweetly at me then.
I chuckle, rolling my eyes only a little. Then I make shooing motions.
"It's time, Kri." I murmur.
His smile falls. He catches my arm and draws me closer. He seems to want to say something, but changes his mind. He drops his hand and lets out a breath.
"I'll see myself out." He says finally.
I nod. That would be for the best...I couldn't.. I don't think I could watch him leave me behind. It was hard enough already.
"Bye Alanna." He murmurs.
"Bye Kri." I whisper.
——
—
-
He calls that night.
Then the next morning.
I don't pick up either calls. My fingers curled into my palms and my eyes squeezed close. Mercifully he only calls once each time. God knows I wouldn't be able to resist otherwise.
I could turn my phone off, but I didn't possess that sort of control. Instead I ensure it's always charged, always on and always around me.
He calls again during lunch. My parents were blessedly in the living space arguing about something or the other they saw on a cooking show and I was in the kitchen, my phone on the counter beside me.
I quieten the ringer, staring at the screen. My heart squeezing and my fingers clenching.
He'd never called me so many times before.
I swallow, but nothing pushes past the knot in my throat.
The call cuts and a message pops up.
Eat well, Alanna.
I let out a breath, dropping my head and closing my eyes. This shouldn't be this hard. I hadn't slept a wink last night.
Not. A. Single. Wink.
YOU ARE READING
TimeBound (Time Tells #1) (COMPLETED)
Romance"Who says your life ends only when your heart stops? It ends even when there's a celebration around you." A marriage. To a man who had saved my parents' life. Their respect, their businesses, their home ... But at a cost. The cost being me. I was...
