Page 67 of You Owe Me

Ainsley leans back slightly, arms crossing over her chest, hoodie sleeve slipping down further until it’s bunched at her elbow. There’s a bruise near her wrist. Faint. Fading. Not mine.

Another flinch in my chest. Controlled. Contained.

“What do you think I’m hiding?” Her voice is softer now, but not soft enough to fool me.

I shrug. “If I knew that, I wouldn’t have to ask.”

“You could just trust me.”

“I do.” I pause, letting it land. “But trust doesn’t mean I stop noticing.”

Her eyes flash, like she wants to argue. But she doesn’t. She chews the inside of her cheek instead, jaw tight.

Still bouncing between fight and flight.

Still here.

I let the silence stretch until it folds around us. Heavy. Intimate. Like we’ve stepped into some soundproof corner of the world where nothing exists but the scrape of her nail against the wood grain and the slow tick of the watch on my wrist.

“Are we okay?”

That’s a loaded question.

She wouldn’t ask it if she thought the answer was yes.

I look at her. Really look.

Hair in a messy twist. Eyes tired. A ring of smudged mascara, like she rubbed her face too hard earlier. Probably after whatever it was she didn’t tell me.

“I don’t want okay,” I say. “I want you.”

The words hang there.

She doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak. Just stares at me like I cracked something she wasn’t ready to hear.

I reach across the table and tap the card she didn’t take. “So, if I only get one IOU tonight, I want the version of you that doesn’t run.”

Her breath catches.

Not loud. Not dramatic. Just a shift in rhythm.

And then she leans forward.

Hands flat on the table. Nails chipped. Shoulders hunched like she’s preparing for impact.

“I haven’t been running.”

I arch a brow. “No?”

She doesn’t answer right away.

She just looks at me.

Not the usual glance—not the flippant, sarcastic version of her that dodges and dances and turns everything into a joke. No, this is different. She’s staring at me like she’s holding something heavy and deciding whether I’m strong enough to carry any of it.

I don’t look away.

Neither does she.

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