Page 285 of Phobia
“Yes, you are.”
Her mouth pops open, daggers shooting from those venomous eyes.
I hold out my hands in surrender. “I have plenty of condoms, Naomi.” Smiling, I turn the charm back on. “Come here, and I’ll make it all good again.” I grip her wrist and pull her close, the speed of her racing pulse making mine kick up a notch.
I need to know.
Watching her closely, I ask, “Did something happen to you?”
“What?”
I hold her firm, ignoring her attempts to wriggle away. “I want to know why the fuck you’re so scared and who needs to die because of it.”
Stunned, she opens her mouth, but no words come out.
“Na-”
“Me,” she admits in defeat. “There’s no one to blame but me.” Grinding her jaw, she heaves a deep breath and shakes her head. “I need my phone.”
“You’re not leaving.”
“Humour me.” Naomi glares at me, and I release her. Reaching into her bag, she hands me her phone. “Read.”
I just stare in response, utterly clueless.
“You want answers, and it’s easier to see for yourself than have me explain, so… read.”
Sighing, I focus on the screen showing a Wikipedia page.Not the way I saw this evening going.Still, it’s a small price to pay to keep her here.
“Tokophobia?” I raise an eyebrow at her.Never heard of it.Skimming over the text, certain words jump out and the penny drops. “You’re scared of getting pregnant.”
The colour drains from Naomi’s face. “Scareddoesn’t touch the surface.”
Rubbing my forehead, I toss her phone onto my bed. “This is a new one on me, Naomi. Not gonna lie.”
She huffs a laugh. “Yeah… well… that’s me. Unique.”
That you are.
Naomi’s face suddenly drops, and her eyes glaze over like she’s entirely elsewhere. “My mum…” She pauses, heaving a deep breath. “She… I kill-”
Pressing a finger firmly against Naomi’s lips, I cut off her words. I saw where they were going, and I’m not having it. “Your mum died giving birth to you.” It isn’t a question, but Naomi still nods. “You didn’t kill her.”
Shoving my hand away, Naomi stares at the ceiling, unconvinced.
I move closer, and she backs away until I’m pressing her against the wall. “I’m going to ask you a question, and I wantyouto answer it, not your fear.”
“We’re the same.”
“No, you’re not. Do you want to fuck me?”
She swallows so hard you’d hear it on the other side of the room. “It’s not that simple.”
“I’m making it simple. Yes or no?”
“Yes,” she responds without thinking.
“See, Naomi…” I stroke her face, the colour returning. “That was you.”
