Beauty in the Ashes

I needed to calm down and prepare for this, and that took time. If I got out of this car before I was ready…well, things wouldn’t be good. It probably wouldn’t go well anyway, but I could try.

“There’s a car in the driveway,” she whispered.

“I know,” I responded.

“You know?”

“Yeah,” I muttered, staring at the ceiling. “I called my friend Kyle to be here in case…”

“In case what?” She pro

dded.

I slowly turned my head towards her and blinked my eyes open. “In case I go in there…and lose it. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“So…” She paused, nibbling on her delectable bottom lip, “you called him to protect me from you?”

I couldn’t tell whether she was touched by the gesture or angry. “Yes.”

“You really think I need to be protected from you?” She snapped, pushing her black hair out of her eyes. “Jesus, Caelan. I can handle you.”

“I’m trying to keep you safe!” I yelled. “I don’t want to hurt you again, not like—”

“You didn’t hurt me,” she cut me off.

“Yes. I. Did.” I bit out each word, wanting to beat them through her thick skull. This was Sutton’s problem; she couldn’t sense danger because she was attracted to it.

She let out a dramatic sigh. “If you hurt me, why am I still here?”

I narrowed my eyes. “Do you really want me to answer that question for you? Because I’m pretty sure you already know the answer.”

Her teeth clamped shut and she stared ahead.

Mustering up all the courage I had left in my body, I opened the car door and stepped out.

Upon seeing me, Kyle got out of his car. Sutton trailed somewhere behind me as I walked slowly up the driveway. My head bowed and my eyes were trained on my feet, so I hadn’t gotten my first look at the house yet.

“Hey, man,” Kyle muttered, clapping a hand on my shoulder. “I hope you aren’t still mad about the last time.”

“It’s okay,” I shrugged. “I understand why you did it.” Lifting my head, I looked him in the eye. “Just don’t try it again.”

He chuckled, but didn’t reply. I knew that meant he wasn’t going to make a promise he might not be able to keep.

Clearing my throat, I placed my hand on the small of Sutton’s back, pulling her against my side. “This is Sutton.”

“Nice to meet you.” Kyle shook her hand. With a smirk, he looked at me and back at her. “I didn’t know that Caelan had a lady friend.”

Lady friend? What the hell?

Sutton laughed, the sound light and sweet. She acted as if our conversation in the car had never happened. “I’m not his friend. We just fuck around.” She looked up at me, smiling evilly.

“Oh, is that what this is?” I snapped.

Her eyes widened in false surprise. If she was looking to piss me off, it was working, and I certainly didn’t need to deal with this bullshit right now. Not today. Not when I was about to force myself to do something I absolutely didn’t want to do.

“Isn’t it? Am I wrong?”

“I don’t have time for your bitchiness,” I growled, my voice low. “Are you on your fucking period or something? There’s a drugstore down the road. Get some tampons and a bar of chocolate.”