Page 31 of His Coveted Obsession

“What he does is irrelevant. He worships me.”

“Ah, that explains the interest. How do you feel about him?”

“He’s mine for now.”

“I hope he’s good enough for you.”

“He meets all my needs.”

“Good. But also be careful, East. People with sensitive emotions can be easily hurt. If you lose interest, there’s no need for your typical bluntness. Just be gentle about it.”

“Why?”

Sid smiled patiently. He was always patient with me, and the first person who truly understood and accepted me. He allowed me to be myself freely, without manipulation. I also knew he loved me like a father should. He was great about teaching me things I didn’t always understand.

“I think you’re smart enough to figure that out. You don’t have to experience the loss of a breakup to understand that it hurts. It will hurt less if you’re not blunt about it.”

“Okay. But he’s mine. There’s no need for me to break up. He pleases me. And he doesn’t make me put on my mask. He likes me for me.”

“Good. He should. That’s what makes a great partner,” Dalton added, leaning forward to kiss Sid on the cheek. “Look at Sid and me. We’re opposites, but we also balance each other. It makes us stronger.”

“When do we get to meet him?” Sid asked, grabbing Dalton’s hand to hold. I always watched their interactions when I was around, learning from them and what made their relationship work.

“Whenever you want,” I said.

I took a bite of my lasagna, loving the garlic, tomatoes, and cheese. Dalton and Sid were great at cooking, and they had taught me a lot when I’d been living with them.

“Let us know when you both have some time off, and I’ll make us dinner,” Dalton said.

“Okay.”

Iblewmynoseinto some toilet paper since I was out of tissues. Ugh, I hated being sick. It took me away from work and much-needed money. I couldn’t keep up with Dad’s spending, and we were running out of food. Whenever that happened, Dad would make promises to stop gambling, and he would go grocery shopping. But it never lasted. Because of it, I didn’t have any cold medicine, so I suffered, unable to breathe through my nose.

I guess I should be grateful that Dad still had a job to make money at all.

The virus had hit me hard the day before yesterday, and I’d been suffering ever since.

At least I had the house to myself with Dad working and Annie at school. I stayed in my room to avoid getting anyone sick. Annie would just have to make dinner for her and Dad tonight.

There was a sudden pounding on the front door, but I ignored it as I scrolled on my phone, with nothing else to do with a head that felt like it was stuffed with cotton instead of a brain.

Then the doorbell rang and rang.

Ugh! God, I didnotwant to get out of bed.

When the knocking and ringing didn’t stop, I got out of bed in a snotty huff and headed downstairs. When I opened it, I found a raging Easton, pacing with a clenched jaw and fists.

“Where were you?” he demanded. “I’ve been expecting to see you at work, and you haven’t been there.”

He missed me so much, he was angry about it. So stinking cute! “I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve texted you, but I’ve been really sick.”

His body completely unwound, as if he’d deflated all his muscles. “Oh.” His pale brown eyes scanned me up and down, then nodded, coming to some sort of conclusion.

“You could’ve called or texted, too,” I said.

“I needed to see for myself where you were and what you were doing.”

I narrowed watering eyes at him and smirked. “Jealous?” I teased, before I sneezed into the crook of my elbow.

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