Page 201 of Redeemed

Not bothering to look at me, he yanks a black hoodie on. “Positive. Not that it’d be any of your business if something was wrong.”

I grimace. Colton was so sweet with me last night. He felt things. I know he did. Hesaidhe did. So why is he acting like this?

Maybe he’s confused,the hopeful side of me thinks, but I don’t let myself believe it.

Because isn’t this what he always does? He’s kind and gentle with me until I let my guard down, and then he does the emotional equivalent of slapping me across the face. And I’m stupid enough to fall for it every time.

“Get up,” Colton says as he puts on one of the watches he usually wears.

“Why are you acting like this?” I ask, my voice small. I shouldn’t show him how much he’s affecting me, but I’m tired of this. “How can you go from washing me in the shower while I cried to giving me the cold shoulder like this?”

He marches over to the bed and rips the blankets back. “I saidget up.”

I hug myself as cool air rushes in. At some point last night, Colton must’ve dressed me in panties and a T-shirt. At least I’m covered, but the clothing does little to protect me against his searing glare.

“Do I need to force you?” he grits out.

“N-no.”

“Then—”

“I’m going!”

Ducking my head so he can’t see my tears, I slide to the edge of the mattress. Just as I’m standing, my cramps decide to come back in full force. With a sharp inhale, I double over. They’re so intense that they make me sick to my stomach. It’s fairly normal for me, but usually I don’t have my bully watching me suffer through the pain.

Colton grabs my arm to keep me from falling over. “What’s wrong?”

I shoot him an incredulous look. “Oh, so now you care?”

“Don’t waste my time,” he snaps. “You practically fell out of bed. What’s—”

“Nothing, I’m fine. I’ll come downstairs in a minute.”

I make it halfway to the bathroom before Colton grabs my arm and whips me around. When I wince, his grip gentles, and his annoyed expression turns to one of concern.

“Did I hurt you yesterday?”

I roll my eyes. “No.”

“You said you were feeling off last night. Are you sick?”

“No. Would you please fuck off?”

“Then what happened?”

“Nothing, I—”

“Enough lies. I thought we already established that. Did you hurt yourself?”

“No!” I yank myself free from his grip. “Jesus, Colton, it’s just cramps. Leave me alone.”

He stays frozen for a second before he realizes that I’ve walked away. Just as I’m closing the door so I can finally have a little privacy, Colton slams his palm against it to keep it open.

“What do you need?” he asks.

“If you have it in you to stop being an insufferable asshole for ten minutes, that’d be lovely.”

That earns me one of his smirks that used to make me roll my eyes. Now it just hurts.

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