Page 121 of Through You
Daniel: I did something stupid.
3:42
Daniel: I need to see you, please.
Daniel: Just once.
And it’s the last message that brings my breathing to a complete stop.
3:44
Daniel: I’m in front of your house.
Daniel: I’m not leaving until I see you.
Shit!
Artemis squirms behind me. I lower my phone and bury it under a pillow so that the light coming from the screen doesn’t wake him up.
Okay, Claudia. You need to think of the best way to handle thissituation. Or it’s going to spiral out of control in too many directions.
I doubt there’s a right way. I entertain the option of not going out to meet him and shutting off my phone, hoping he’ll get tired of waiting. But I know Daniel, and when he’s drunk he tends to fall asleep wherever he happens to be. Besides, I’m not so heartless as to abandon him to Fortune’s mercy when I don’t even know how he got here. What if he drove? There’s no way I can let him leave on his own. Argh! I had a feeling that sleeping with him one last time was a terrible idea. I knew he had feelings for me, and I shouldn’t have taken advantage of him.
I carefully untangle Artemis’s arms from my waist and get out of bed. I steal a brief glance at him lying naked. The moon-light streaming through the window illuminates the muscles of his back. His hand is outstretched, reaching to my side as if he’s searching for me in his sleep.
Artemis Hidalgo.
My iceberg.
I don’t want anything to ruin this, especially not a misunderstanding. I know that if I wake him up to help me with Daniel, he won’t understand and will become jealous, and god knows what he’ll do. Artemis can be very impulsive. He punched his own brother when he found out what happened between us. I can’t begin to imagine what he would to Daniel, even though what we had is in the past. I whisper a curse when I realize that the maid’s uniform is the only thing I have to wear. I quickly tie my hair up in a ponytail, put on my uniform, and quietly exit the room.
I carefully walk down the stairs and hurry to the front door under the cover of darkness. I deactivate the alarm next to the door before I open it and step outside. The night breeze makes me shiver but I don’t let it bother me. And sure enough, Daniel is sitting on the steps of the small staircase at the entrance. He rests his head against a post, and his car is badly parked out front. The door is open. Dear god. How did he manage to get here in one piece?
“Daniel,” I say firmly.
He lifts his head and turns to look at me. I can tell his eyes are red; so are his nose and cheeks. He’s very drunk and has been crying, which makes me feel terrible. It was never my intention to hurt someone like this.
“Hi, baby,” he says with a sad smile.
“What are you doing here? It’s almost four in the morning, Daniel.” I walk down the stairs to face him. He remains seated; I doubt he’s able to stand.
“I needed to see you,” he says softly. “I miss you. Why can’t I get you out of my head?”
“Daniel . . .”
“I’ve never felt this way about anyone before, Claudia. No one. Please give me a chance.”
“Daniel, I was very clear with you right from the start. I—”
“Yes, yes, yes. It was just fucking—no strings attached. I know.
But other girls who’ve said the same thing to me before, they’ve always wanted more. I thought that you wanted more too.”
I shake my head. “It was just sex, Daniel. To me, it was always just that.”
His eyes are watery, and he licks his lips.
“Fuck me, it’s just my luck that I would fall in love with the one girl who actually honors her end of the no strings attached bargain.” He lets out a sarcastic chuckle.
