Page 100 of My Best Bet

Fuck.It hadn’t occurred to me until right then that she might not even be home.

Bolting back up the stairs, my eyes darted to cars parked on the street. A breath of relief punched out of me when I spotted her shitty Escape– that car, along with this apartment, needed to go.

Running my tongue over my teeth, I shook my head. So, she was here, she was just ignoring me. Not acceptable.

Hiking my shoulders up, I went back to the door and knocked again. “I’ll stay out here all night, Mer,” I warned. “And it’s pretty fuckin’ cold.”

That finally got her.

The door cracked slightly open, but she didn’t unlock the chain.

She silently faced me with a stone-cold look on her face, but her swollen eyes and blotchy neck gave her away, telling me she’d been crying.

My stomach bottomed out, but I forced myself to appear unaffected because she was clearly trying to cover it up.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I rocked back on my heels and asked, “Can I please come in? It’s a bit chilly.”

She stared at me for a beat, then moved like she was going to shut me out.

“Piper said she’s not leaving my house ‘til I bring you back,” I said quickly. “And I’m not sure how much longer my house will be left standing because Kappy’s there with her. Ireallylike my house, Mer. Took me a long time to pick out.”

Rolling her eyes, she closed the door to undo the lock, then finally let me in.

The only problem was– her apartment wasn’t much warmer than outside.

“Why’s it so cold?” I toed off my boots on her welcome mat, taking note that she was bundled up in one of my old hoodies with a blanket wrapped around her.

She murmured something that sounded an awful lot like “heat broke.”

My jaw locked as my eyes surveyed the room. While there were touches of her placed around the shabby apartment in an attempt to revive it, the small space was ancient and dusty, not to mention freezing, which couldn't be good for her knee.

“Yeah, you’re not living here,” I told her matter-of-factly.

Her face cracked. “Yes, I am.”

“Yeah, no.” I frowned and shook my head. “Absolutely not. Get your clothes together or I'll do it for you.”

Her eyebrows slammed down. “No, Colt. I’m not leaving.”

A humorless laugh popped out of me as I strode to the thermostat to inspect it. “Wanna bet on that, sweetheart?”

“It’s not that bad,” she mumbled, not ready to give in yet.

“Yeah, sure.” I stalked over to her closet and threw it open. Just as I expected, her suitcase was tucked in the corner. Ripping it out, I started tearing things off the hangers and throwing them haphazardly in the suitcase.

“What are you doing?” she shrieked. “Stop it, Colt.” She grabbed up her clothes. “You can’t just bulldoze in here and boss me around. That’s not how this works.”

When I didn’t stop, she dropped her clothes and shoved at my chest, but I didn’t budge an inch.

Squaring my shoulders, I met her angry scowl head on. Both of our bodies practically radiated frustration. She was so close to me, yet there was so much distance between us, and I hated it.

I flexed my jaw to settle my breathing. “Oh, Iamgoing to boss you around, Mer, because the last time I didn't…”I almost lost you.I scrubbed a hand over my jaw. “You better get used to it because I'm not going anywhere. And you don’t want me to go anywhere either, do you?” I challenged her. “Tell me to leave and I’ll leave, Mer.” I pointed to her door.

She looked so angry that I felt a flicker of panic over the possibility that she really would tell me to get lost.

Instead, we just silently glared at each other.

Her nose flared before she spun around and fell down on her bed. She grabbed up her pillow and covered her face before releasing a frustrated scream.

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