Page 142 of Toxic Wishes
He peers up at me, and he’s so damn beautiful it’s hard for me not to run into his arms and beg him to take me with him.
“Hi,” he says softly, which surprises me at first. Never knowing his mood, I figured he’d be mad I was invading his space.
“Hi,” I say back. Placing my hands to the side of me, not sure what to do with them. “So, were you going to tell me you were leaving before you left?”
He drops one of the shirts to the bed and runs a hand through his hair.
“I didn’t want to make it a big deal or worse. Especially in front of Bodie. He has grown attached to you.”
“Oh, so he’s the only one who has?” Colt’s long face would have grown even sadder if it were possible.
“Sorry,” is all he manages to say.
I’d been on the verge of tears all day, but suddenly, I felt a different emotion. Anger. I placed my hands on my hips.
“Really? Sorry, so is it just him you’re sorry about hurting? Did you ever think you might be hurting someone else?”
Colt blew out a jagged breath as he rubbed the back of his neck.
“I’m sorry I didn’t get to tell you one-on-one, but I had to leave early this morning and return to the house.”
“So what you’re sorry for is telling me in an inopportune way?” My voice rose above a shriek.
“My agent called, and they need me earlier than expected.”
I scoffed. “I’m no expert, but I call bullshit. I’m not an idiot. I feel like that was a choice you made. And I want to know why. Why would you end things like this?”
“You’re right. It’s a choice, and I chose to go back early to help out the new receivers.”
I shook my head. He still wasn’t looking at me, so I made a bold move and decided to close the distance between us.
“Look at me. Tell me the real reason you are going back.”
He raises his eyes, and they flicker back and forth between mine before he closes them and takes a deep breath.
“I’m leaving because things between me and you need to end.”
Sadness wrapped around my heart and squeezed out all the anger. I did my best to blink back the sting of tears, but I wasn’t sure if I could keep them at bay for too long.
“Why?” My voice sounded like a fuzzy radio station. Cracked and barely audible.
“I’m not right for you, Abigail. You moved back to Missouri to go to medical school. Be close to your sister and pursue your dreams. Give yourself the life you deserve. That life is here for the taking. And it doesn’t include me.”
A tear spilled down my cheek.
“But what about-about Bodie?” I clung to anything to make him stop and rethink this.
“Bodie is my son.”
I placed a hand over my heart as if I was physically stabbed.
“I know he got close to you over the summer. I won’t deny that. But he is just a kid. He can’t make my decisions for me. Besides, you and I both got caught up in the heat of the moment, which isn’t his fault, so I’m allowing you two to see one another.”
Another tear snuck up and strolled down my cheek before hitting the ground.
“I care about you, Abigail. I do, but what happened between you and me was a mistake. It only happened because we both were…around each other. It should have never happened. I should have kept my dick in my pants and never fucked the girl my dead brother cared about.”
It felt like someone had slapped me across the face twice. Saying it had to end was one thing, but regretting it and saying this was a mistake was another altogether.