“Sorry. Just tired. It’s been a long day.”
“Oh. Well, do you want to talk about it? What’s been going on?”
“Nothing.”
“Nothing? How can you have had a long day if it’s nothing?”
“I just don’t want to talk about it, Natalie, is that all right?”
Taken aback by the coldness and frustration in his voice, I crossed my arms over my chest. When he didn’t say anything else, I cleared my throat. “Well. I’m going to take a shower.”
“Okay,” he said, flopping down on the couch.
I pursed my lips together. I’d been hoping he would want to come with me, but that clearly wasn’t the case
. “I’ll be back in a second then,” I said.
“Take your time,” he mumbled, although I pretended not to hear him.
I did take my time in the shower though, hoping it would give Colt some time to get over his foul mood. When I got out of the shower, I combed and blow-dried my hair, and applied my favorite sweet-smelling body lotion. Tossing on a gown that hit me just before the knees, I returned to the living room, where Colt sat on the couch, staring idly at the TV.
“Are you still tired?” I asked, sitting beside him.
He simply nodded without looking at me.
Just as I was about to rest my head on his shoulder, he moved to reach for the remote. I paused, and sat back upright, getting the impression he had done so on purpose to avoid my touch.
“Okay. Colt—seriously, what’s wrong with you?” I said.
“Nothing, Natalie. Just go to bed.”
“Excuse me?”
“Isn’t that what you were about to do?” Seeing the look on my face, he sighed. “Look—I’m sorry. Today—there was another attempted attack on your father.”
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Nothing happened though,” Colt continued. “We were able to intervene before it got anywhere near as close as last time.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me that to begin with? I knew something was bothering you. I deserve to know this stuff.” I said. He stood from the couch and began pacing the room.
“You’re right. And that’s the real reason I’m here, Natalie,” he said. “I need to tell you that all of this—it has to stop.”
I stared at him, blinking. “All of what has to stop?”
“Us. We have to stop. We can’t go on like this.”
“What are you telling me, Colt?”
“That we can’t be together.”
I sat still and quiet for a long time, letting his words sink in. I shook my head and gave a mirthless laugh. “So we’re back to this?”
“Yes.”
I stood too, my anger rising. “Well correct me if I’m wrong, but wasn’t it you who decided to go forward with this? Wasn’t it you who said you couldn’t stay away from me? Wasn’t it you who said that whatever obstacles came our way, we would just figure it out?”
“Yes, but that was before—”