Authors: Bridget Blackwood
Rising Shadows (13 page)
A Scarlet Fury
Setting my bag on the bed, I tell him
, “I really appreciate you letting me crash with you.”
Cleary leans against the door frame with his hands in his back pockets. He grins at me and says
, “Stop thanking me, Mads. I told you over a year ago you could stay here if you needed to.”
I look down at my feet.
That was before everything happened, back when I was whole.
A hand brushes my shoulder making me jump and yelp. I whirl around and take a defensive stance ready to a protect myself.
“Whoa! Easy, Madalaina.” Cleary backs away, palms up in surrender. “You looked like you were thinking some pretty heavy thoughts, I wanted to bring you out of them before they settled you in a funk. Guess I missed my window of opportunity.”
Anxiety and embarrassment color my
cheeks, I’m mad at myself for overreacting and mad at Cleary for making me feel this way.
“I don’t like to be touched, not anymore.” I know I’m being a bitch, but he needs to know not to let this happen again.
Cleary takes his sunglasses off so I can see the sincerity in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Mads.” Those three words speak volumes, he’s sorry for this moment and all the moments before. I should tell him it’s not his fault, that he has no reason to be sorry but I stay silent.
Sliding his sunglasses back on, he breaks the moment. “I’m
gonna head back to the living room, maybe play a video game or take a nap. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”
He closes the door on his way out of my new temporary bedroom, which is actually his bedroom. Cleary’s personality is evident in every inch.
Why did I think this was a good idea?
Copyright © 2014 by Bridget Jackson
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