Page 175 of Three Reckless Words

“But that’sexactlywhat you’re doing right now. I want to help you face this head-on, not hide away like some helpless little doll you put on a shelf.”

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough?” I snap, and she flinches back. Shit. “Look, I know you tried when you called him up, you had good intentions, but—” I exhale, frustrated. “Can’t you see I’m doing this to help you too? I need you to trust me.”

She folds her arms. Her hair almost seems like it’s bristling.

“Actually, sometimes I can’t. If you just shut me out, if you insist it doesn’t concern me when it clearly does… Archer, how can I trust anything you say?”

I stare at her, my nostrils flaring.

“If you can’t trust me, then maybe none of this is right.”

Fucking hell.

As soon as it’s left my mouth, I want to claw the words right back.

Her face whitens. I think she might cry again.

But I guess that’s not what she does when she’s hurt, because when she looks up at me, her wide eyes so full of agony it rips at my heart, she’s calm. Composed.

“Wait—” I start, but she waves away my words.

“Maybe you’re right.”

“I didn’t mean it.”

“But you did,” she says coldly.

What is happening?

I want her to break down, to rage at me, to put me back in my place for running my mouth, but she just looks lost now. All this venom and agony deep inside her where I can’t reach.

It fucking hurts watching her.

Like she’s so used to being tossed aside, she knows how to handle the rejection.

“Winnie, I didn’t mean it. I was just frustrated.”

“You don’t just say something like that and take it right back.” She sniffs. “Especially when you… you meant every word.”

Damn.

I know I can’t undo it, I know it’s not that easy, but this is shredding me. I don’t even know what the fuck I really meant. I was just spouting off because I was pissed, scared at the thought of her suffering.

The look on her face screams pain.

“I know you’re angry, and I know you said it because you’re mad,” she says, still quiet. I reach out to her and she steps back. “But you’re right. This isn’t working.”

“You can’t mean that,” I rasp out, feeling like she’s shot me through the heart.

Her lip quivers, sadness filling her eyes.

“Wouldn’t it be easier than fighting him? I walk out, I go somewhere he can’t find me, and then he has no reason to come after you.” She gestures between us, her hand shaking.

When I reach out to grab her, she sweeps back to the door, leaving before I can try to mitigate this train wreck. And yes, I’m the idiot conductor who ran it off the rails.

“Wait,” I call after her. “Winnie, come back and talk to me!”

“No.” She shakes her head. “Not now. I just need… give me space, Archer, okay?”

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