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"You’re asking ’ doesn’t have to , and when I reached out to touch her, she flinched away "‘Everything’ is ato make a misstep Maybe it’ll come two years from now, and what then? If you’ve already shackled yourself toto be touched? If one day, I wake up and it’s there, my own private hell is back and everywhere around ain? You wouldn’t be able to leave me, at that point You’re an honorable man But I know it No one could sustain that Bit by bit, you’d just--you’d go" She laughed "God, I just want to burn it all do, so I can know the worst thing that could happen So I can control it"

I stared at her "You’d what? Tell me to leave?"

"Or I could sleep with you" The look in her eyes was cold "That would have the sa it all"

She was pushing me away She had veered too close, and now she was overcorrecting, and she was overcorrecting with knives I couldn’t do it, I couldn’t sit there another second and listen to her say these things, and horrifyingly, I was still turned on I needed her as far from me as possible "Get out"

"This is o?"

"Anywhere else I can’t--get out, Charlotte"

An awful moment passed, then another, and when she cliht out the door

All the ti with texts They were from my father, apparently; it was six am in the States I seized on it now as a distraction Anything to keep my mind occupied

Why are you asking ain? I’ve told you already why I won’t send them

Dad, I wrote I don’t see any other way Milo’s in Thailand Holmes just ran out on me I can’t make bricks without clay

No response

Unless you can cooing to get Leander back