Page 220 of Make the Play

Buried it in his blood. Confessed it in carnations. Told me I’ve been casually nestled under his ribs this whole damn time.

It’s not too much, it’s not pressure, it’s not a plea.

It’s just love,quiet and permanent.

Pure.

And I don’t know what to do with that, don’t know how to breathe around it. Not when I still feel like my own skin doesn’t quite fit. Not when he’s showing me something so beautiful and all I have are pieces.

And certainly not while I feel like crying in front of him, when all he’s ever seen of me for weeks now is broken Zoe.

“I—I have to go,” I mumble, voice barely holding. “To work.”

It’s a lie, and we both know it.

But I turn anyway, clutching the coat as I rush out the door.

Chapter forty-four

Every piece of you belongs with me

Chase

The second the door slams shut behind her, I follow. I don’t even think, I just run. Out the door, down the steps.

Into the storm.

Rain lashes down in heavy, relentless sheets, soaking through my hoodie, plastering my T-shirt to my skin. The pavement shines wet beneath the low daylight, reflecting the mess of a city I couldn’t give a single fuck about right now.

I don’t feel anything except the splash of my shoes hitting the pavement, the rush of blood in my ears, the thunder of my own fucking heart screaminggo.

Because she’s walking away again, and I can’t let her.

Not with her shoulders curled in, her arms wrapped around herself, holding everything together with sheer fucking will. Not with the way her chin trembles, or the way she’s forcing herself to walk away from me and pretend she’s not breaking apart.

I catch up to her halfway down the block.

“Zoe.”

My voice catches, but she doesn’t stop.

“Zoe.”

I reach out and touch her shoulder. Not hard, just enough for her to pause.

She whirls on me, rain dripping from her lashes, fire burning in her eyes. Her cheeks are flushed and wet, but it’s not just the rain. Dark hair sticks to her cheeks, clinging to her throat, and I want to push it back.

I want to do so much more than that.

She glares at me. “What are you doing?”

“I love you.”

It bursts out of me, just like that. No hesitation, no taking it back.

Her lips part, and everything stops. The rain, the street noise. The whole fucking world.

“Don’t,” she chokes out. “Don't say it yet.”

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