Page 129 of After All This Time

"Amelia?" My mom's voice cracks through the air like a whip.

"Two minutes," I bite back, not slowing.

"Amelia!" she calls again, but I'm already gone, slipping into the bedroom after Tobias. Itry to closethe door, but his hand shoots out, stopping it cold.

"What's wrong?"

"Please don't ask." His exhale is ragged, fingers raking through that beautiful mess of dark hair. "Because I don't want to lie to you, and I won't, but I also can't talk about it right now."

"Has something happened with my mom?" My gut churns as I watch the tension coil in his jaw.

"Amelia, please, baby, just leave it alone. Just for now." His hand moves to my hair, brushing it back in a gesture that's more habit than comfort.

"I don't understand whathappened between last night and this morning."

When his eyes finally meet mine, the pain there steals my breath. I reach for him, needing to touch, needing to taste, and to fix whatever's broken, but a knock shatters the moment.

Tobias doesn't flinch, but his hand rises to grip the top of the doorframe, his posture rigid as he turns his head slightly. "Jesus, Mom, what?"

"I'm taking you to brunch today, so don't be long," she announces, poking her head in.

"Great. Can't wait," I mutter, watching her leave.

I glance back at Tobias. "This conversation isn't over."

He nods, but his mind is a million miles away.

I reach up on my toes, kissing the side of his neck, feeling his abs flinch beneath my palm.

"Don't shut me out," I whisper against his skin, letting my lips linger against his racing pulse. "Not now."

I walk away and head straight to my room, yankingmyclothes from my closet with hands that won't stop shaking. The mirror across from me reflects a girl who's been thoroughly undone. Dark circles under my eyes tell the story of a sleepless night with Tobias, hair still wild from his fingers.I basically look like a walking advertisement for "I just got fucked within an inch of my life."

Tobias doesn't shut down. Not with me. Not ever. But maybe that's exactly what happens when you start getting close to something that scares the absolute shit out of you. Something that feels too big, too real. Something broke between last night and this morning. And I'm going to find out what, even if it kills me.

"Ready?" my mom asks when I meet her in the kitchen.

She's designer everything, not a hair out of place, and leaning against the island like she's auditioning for "Privileged Parasite Monthly."

"Yeah," I mutter, snatching my keys from the hook.

I silently drive us to Laurent's. It's one of those pretentious places she loves, filled with crystal chandeliers and imported marble, where they charge forty dollars for three bites of food and the satisfaction of saying you ate there.

Once we're seated, Mom orders before I can open my menu, and I want to scream. Eggs benedict. Always with the fuckingeggs benedict, like I'm still ten years old, and she knows what's best for me.

She launches into her usual chatter about her "friends"—women who'd probablydisappearthe second her bank account hit zero. But I can't focus. My appetite is nonexistent, and my stomach is tied in knots.

When she finally stops talking, I go for the throat.

"What the hell did you say to Tobias this morning?" I ask, cutting straight to the point.

"What do you mean?"

"Don't, Mom. Something was going on when I came into the room. I could feel it."

She dabs her lips with her napkin, and I watch her construct her lies behind those familiar brown eyes—the same ones that stare back at me in the mirror every morning.

"You know how he gets. He was probably exhausted from sleeping on the couch."

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