Page 51 of Locke 2

I didn’t do any of that.

I shut my eyes, listening as his footsteps faded away.

Twenty-Three

Kali

“Fool,” Aurora hissed, seconds after he’d left.

I turned to my side, ignoring her. I wanted her to go away.Leave me alone. He wants too much. I can’t give it to him.

I opened my eyes and stared ahead, listening intently for sounds of him.

Had he truly left?

“I can’t give it to him,” I declared, but there was no fight in my voice.

Defeated, I lay there. Aurora was gone, and the room felt painfully still. Nothing but his angry eyes flashed through my vision. His words were coated with pain and anger. He looked so sad. Guilt spread across my chest, hot like fire. I sat up and stared at the door. He’d left it ajar. I wanted him to appear, but he wasn’t there, and I heard nothing.

“Aurora?” I whispered.

She wasn’t there.

“Locke?”

He wasn’t there, either.

I climbed off the bed and rushed out of the room. His car would be parked down the street. I might catch up to him. I slipped on my shoes and opened the front door. Cold air greeted me, and a light spatter of rain. The porch was empty, and I didn’t see him down the driveway. I rushed down the steps and searched the streets. Icy wind swept my hair in all directions as I peered right and left. Squinting my eyes, I caught movement. His form, blacker than night, moved in the direction of his black car.

I ran to him.

I wouldn’t scream his name and wake the neighbours, but if he got to his car before I did, I might have to. I couldn’t let him leave in this way.

He reached his car, and I heard it beep—

My shoes crunched loudly under my feet. I saw him still, and his head turned to the side. He didn’t look behind him, but he heard me just the same.

My lungs burned as I came to a hard stop behind him. A few feet separated us, but it still felt vast. I panted and he remained unmoving.

“Locke…” The words sat like cement in my throat. I swallowed hard and forced them out. “I’m sorry.”

He slowly turned around. I tried to blink away the heavy emotion, but my eyes watered. I wanted to tell him more things,but I physically couldn’t. He watched me like he was searching for something. If he found it, I didn’t know, but he looked back down at the ground and heaved out a long breath. “Get in the car, Kali”

He didn’t have to ask me twice. I hurried to the passenger side and slid in. I was still breathing heavily, watching him with wide eyes. He wasn’t so fast. He stood still and stared up at the night sky. Melancholy enveloped him, transforming his fearsome presence into one shrouded in misery.

He finally stirred, climbing into the car and starting the engine. Hot air burst through the vents, warming my cold skin. The interior light stayed off, offering a small reprieve in the darkness. He couldn’t see the tears streaming down my face, and I couldn’t see the pain mirrored in his.

“I didn’t mean what I said,” he whispered. “Even if you ran from me for good, I wouldn’t take back the days I got to have you in my bed.”

This man was undoing me quickly. I felt myself trembling. I reached out to him and gripped his hand. I squeezed him tightly. “Thank you for finding me. You could have ignored my call.”

He turned his head, looking baffled at my words. “You don’t get it, do you?”

He didn’t wait for a response. He shook his head and looked down the street. “It wasn’t a game to me, Kali.”

I looked down the street, too, nodding once as I admitted quietly, “I know, Locke.”

I always knew that.

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