Page 88 of Play With Me
“I’m not ending this.”
“Then what? Why the cold shoulder?”
He folds his arms across his chest and glowers at me. I need to talk to him, to open up. I can’t just keep it all in. Doing that, mulling it over alone, is only making me spiral. It doesn’t help that Maya called earlier and said she had some new information for me about Colton. And now she’s not answering her phone.
That, combined with not fully understanding Colton, is making me slightly crazy.
“Let me shower, and we can talk at my place.”
“No. Mine. Hamish will be waiting outside.” His icy tone has me shivering slightly, and I watch him walk away, his shoulders slumping as he turns the corner.
To say I shower quickly and put on clean clothes is an understatement. I almost fall twice trying to move faster.
By the time I’m in the car on my way to the frat house, my leg is bouncing up and down.
“You okay, sir?” Hamish asks me.
“Yeah,” I murmur. “Thanks for asking.”
He nods, and then the car slows. “I’m overstepping boundaries by saying this, but I know his stepfather stopped by the other day.”
My breath stills in my lungs.
“Mr. Cavanaugh hired me specifically because he doesn’t trust many people. His stepfather and mother included. Mainly because the people they hired to drive him would report back to them on where he was going and what he was doing. He wanted freedom from that. From Erick.”
“Shit,” I murmur, knowing that the vibe his stepfather gave me made me feel gross. I should never have let his words seep into me, to make me doubt, but I did. I’m only human.
“Whatever he told you, take it with a grain of salt. I’ve met the man several times, and he’s scheming.”
With that, he turns his gaze back to the road, and his hands flex on the wheel.
I’m left to sit there, unsure if I actually heard what was just uttered or if I was hallucinating, but when he opens the door for me, he nods.
“Take care of him, Mr. Witkoff. He doesn’t have many people in his life he can trust.”
I don’t know how to respond to that so I just turn and walk toward the house, where Colton is waiting for me. When I get to the front porch, though, my phone rings. Maya is finally calling me back.
When I enter Colton’s bedroom, I see him pacing the floor. When he hears me, he stops and meets my stare.
“You came.”
“Yeah,” I say, feeling ashamed for the dark turn my thoughts have taken over the past few days. I can’t help it, though. I am so fucking confused.
“I didn’t think you would.”
“I’m here. Sorry, I had to take a phone call outside…”
He stares at me intently and then squares his shoulders, almost like he’s going to battle. Battle for me.
“Talk to me.” When I say nothing, he sighs. “Please. Talk to me, Myles.”
“I just got in my head about what that asshole said about you,” I finally admit, feeling my heart crack slightly when he winces. “I’m sorry. I should have told you sooner, but I thought maybe I was overreacting, and I needed a minute to think. On my own. Without you. Because when you’re with me, I can’t fucking think of anything else but you.”
“Yeah, same,” he grumbles.
We’re silent a moment, and then he asks. “So, what were you stuck in your head about?”
“Well, I know some of what he said is true. You do steal things. My things.”
