Page 37 of Back To You

Pathetic.

I shut the door to the apartment behind me, knowing Luke isn’t too far behind, but he can open the damn door himself.

I head into the guest bedroom and start packing up all my stuff. It’s a mess in here, and there is no way I can get everything out in one trip, but I pack what I need for a night before grabbing my phone to call Mia.

No.

I can’t involve her in this.

I have to handle this on my own.

I’ll sleep in my car if I have to.

I cannot stay here.

“Annie?” a voice booms from the kitchen, the door slamming behind him. “What the hell just happened?”

I ignore Luke as I continue shoving shit into my bag.

“What are you doing?” he asks, coming to a stop in front of my opened door.

“Leaving.”

“What? It’s almost midnight. You’re not leaving.” He steps toward me. I feel his hand come to my shoulder, but I shrug him off.

“Yes, I am.” I zip up the bag I have opened on my bed and finally turn to face him. “This was never a good idea. There’s too much history, too many feelings. It’s not fair to either of us.”

“What are you talking about?”

“This!” I yell, gesturing between the two of us. “Living together, spending time together, it’s bringing up old feelings for the both of us. It’s not healthy.”

“These aren’t old feelings, Annie. They never went away. Not for me.”

“Well, they did for me,” I snap.

He shakes his head. “You don’t mean that.”

“Don’t you dare,” I spit, poking him in the chest, “tell me how I feel.”

“You can lie to yourself, but you can't lie to me.” He grabs my hand, holding it tightly. “We can be so much more than this. Please give me a chance to show you.”

I try to pull my hand from his grip but he’s either holding on tight, or I’m not trying that hard to pull away. “I don’t give a fuck about what you think we could be.”

“I’ll give one for the both of us.”

I shake my head, finally ripping my hand out of his and step back. “No. Being here. With you. It hurts too much.”

For every step I take back, Luke takes another forward.

He places his hands on my upper arms, holding me in place. “It doesn’t have to hurt, Annie. Tell me what I did wrong, please. I’ll do anything.”

“It’s not worth it,” I whisper.

He bends down to try and meet my eyes that are staring at the space in front of me. “Whatever it is, it cost me everything.”

Finally, I look at him, pain etched across his features as he waits for me to respond.A small part of me knows I’m not angry, not anymore. But I know I’m not okay.

“You’ll never be my stupid knight in shining armor, Luke. Because you weren’t there when it mattered most.”

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