Page 12 of My Lovely Tragedy
Each breath comes easier, lighter, until the heavy thump inside my chest is less painful.
My head lolls to the side, the tip of my nose scraping against the coarse hair beneath Tobias’s chin. His head tilts down slightly, keeping me in place as my face, wet with snot and tears, smears across his skin.
His fingers still hold mine, keeping my own spread wide, both of our arms resting against my thighs. A grounding touch. Unfamiliar but solid.
“Your family, however worried they may be, will be okay. Becauseyouare. And you will be able to speak to them soon. I will do everything in my power to make that possible for you.”
He sounds so assured, it makes my lips quirk in amusement, in spite of everything. “Yeah? Like what? Go out and fix the cell tower, wherever the hell that is?”
Tobias hums, and the sound rumbles from his chest and into my back. “I wish I were that capable, but no. I would walk, however far it took, until cell service was reached.”
“Why?” I blurt.
“Because you’re worried, and I do not want you to be.”
I ponder his words for a few minutes, then I pull my hands from his. He lets me go easily, skin sliding against skin as I lift my head and push myself forward, needing space now that reality is back, as cold and bitter as ever.
“You know all of this.” I gesture around at the entirety of his cabin. “Is weird, right?”
“Hmm.”
“Like, I don’t know you, and you don’t know me. And we’re stranded inyourcabin, in the middle of nowhere. With no phones or TV or anything. This is what happens at the beginning of every fucking horror movie.” I grumble the last part to myself, but Tobias hears me all the same.
“Yes, I am aware of how strange it is. Trust me when I say I have never done anything like this before. It’s… peculiar for me, too. Allowing someone into my home. My space.”
I peer at him over my shoulder, my—his—dark gray T-shirt now damp from my hair. “Then why?”
He shrugs, and the action appears weird and stiff. Forced, maybe. “I do not know. But if you’re uncomfortable with thestrangersaspect of it all, I suppose thereissomething we can do about that. Ask me whatever you would like to know.” Tobias leans back on his hands, legs still slightly spread, and the sight nearly makes me crack a smile. He looks uncomfortable trying to appear relaxed when he seems like such a poised guy.
His glasses have slid down his nose, revealing two cuts on either side of the bridge along with a darkening bruise.
I scoot back until I’m against the side of the couch. Pulling my knees to my chest, I wrap my arms around them. “What happened to your face?” I blurt, even though I’m ninety percent sure I remember.
“You fell, quite ungracefully, into me.” Tobias sits up as well, back ramrod straight, as he pushes his glasses back into place. I wince anyway.
“Sorry.”
He holds up his hand. “No need. It does not hurt.”
I ignore that. “Why did you bring me here?”
Tobias seems to ponder my question for a moment, eyes raising to the dark ceiling before settling on the fireplace, blazing with a warming fire. I watch the flames flicker and bounce in the reflection of his lens as he answers.
“I find you interesting.”
“Interesting,” I deadpan.
“Hmm.”
I raise a brow. “That’s not an answer.”
“It is, just not one you would prefer to have. But to expand on that, you were wild and blunt. Careless and seemingly free. But I see a heaviness in you I recognize. You also said something that…” He pauses for a moment. His throat rolls with a swallow, fingers tapping against his thighs. “Something that caught me. And I suppose I do not have the best explanation, but I asked you if you would like to come home with me, and you said yes. Past that, I did not think more of it.”
His eyes meet mine in the briefest flicker. Too long and not nearly long enough. “But I would like to get to know you. As I said, I find you interesting.”
I roll my shoulders, still feeling a bit stiff and achy, but that doesn’t stop my thoughts from churning, rolling with confusion and interest, despite my wariness. “And you have no idea who I am.” It’s not a question.
A small shake of his head. “Not aside from what you have decided to divulge, no.”
