Page 217 of Tempting-
The house is dark.
The only sound is coming from upstairs. From Kaylee's bedroom.
She's crying.
Fuck, I've never been this happy to hear someone crying.
I nearly run up the stairs.
Nearly break her door pushing it open.
She's curled up in her bed in the dark.
Hugging her knees.
Blinking back another set of tears.
"Kay." I sit next to her. Rub her shoulder with my palm. I need to fix this. Somehow.
"I'm sorry." She pulls her knees into her chest. "She asked. And I wanted to lie, but I couldn't. I couldn't say anything. I just stared."
This is my fault. This whole fucking thing is my fault.
Em is right.
I'm the adult here.
I'm the person who is supposedto protect Kaylee.
If there was some other twenty-six-year-old guy trying to get in her pants, I'd kick his ass.
"It's not your fault." I run my fingers through her hair. "This has been inevitable."
She nods. "Still."
"No, Kay. This is on me."
She shakes her head. "I didn't have to make up that stuff about Dean. I... I'm sorry. I made everything complicated. And you... you don't want complicated."
"Come here."
She pushes herself up and buries her head in my chest. "She's never going to talk to me again."
"She'll get over it."
Kaylee shakes her head. "No. She looked so betrayed. I've never seen that before."
"She will. I promise."
"No. I'm going to leave tomorrow, and everything is going to be fucked, and I'm going to come back here and everything will still be fucked." Kay clutches at my arms. She holds me tighter. Pulls me closer. "I'm sorry. I..."
"It's not your fault."
Again, she shakes her head.
She's not going to get it.
Not like this.
