It was hard to believe in a new beginning when my heart was back in NYC with Matt. But…he couldn’t help me escape right now. Or maybe ever. We’d have to be positive Mr. Pruitt would never find him again. Or else…the unthinkable would happen. I couldn’t even imagine being the reason that Miller stopped breathing.
I climbed off my bed and walked over to him. I needed to see what else my father had done to him. Because it was all my fault. I grabbed the hem of his shirt.
“Brooklyn, don’t.” He caught my hand.
“You said you’re not supposed to touch me. That doesn’t mean I can’t touch you.” I had not meant for that to sound so suggestive. But I knew how it came out when his Adam’s apple slowly rose and fell as he stared down at me.
I was frozen in place with him staring at me like that. If I’d thought my words were suggestive…his eyes on me were just as suggestive.
“Okay.” I wasn’t exactly sure what I was saying okay to.Okay I won’t touch you? Okay I’m going to? Okay that was awkward yet somehow not awkward at all?
We continued to just stare at each other.
I needed to break the tension. “Maybe we can discuss this all again when you can dress yourself?”
He smiled and then winced.
“I’m so sorry.” And without trying to second guess myself, I did what I wanted to do. I stood up on my tiptoes and kissed his cheek where there miraculously weren’t any stitches or bruises. “Thank you for not leaving me all alone, Miller. Thank you for coming with me. I owe you everything.” I hugged him, trying hard not to put too much pressure anywhere on his body. I couldn’t believe the last few nights he’d held me in his arms as I fell asleep. That must have been incredibly painful for him.
“I’m just doing my job,” he said.
“We both know that isn’t true. Pretending to die and take care of a member of the family was definitely not in your hiring agreement.”
“It certainly was in the contract I signed. Mr. Pruitt’s contracts are very thorough.”
“Well, either way, bringing said member of the family ice cream wasn’t in it.” I took a step back from him before I did something awkward and kissed his cheek again.
“And it’s melting. Come on, back to bed with you.” He hit the lights.
I was happy he turned them off again because looking at him made me want to cry. And not just because of the damage to his face. But because I could see that his feelings for me hadn’t changed. He still looked at me the same way he did when I crawled in his bed back at my dad’s apartment. Before I chose Matt. Before Matt chose me back. My ring was gone, but that didn’t make me feel any less engaged.
And when Miller looked at me like that? Like he wanted me to touch him? I was worried that maybe a little piece of me wanted that too.
Runaway - Chapter 12
Wednesday
“Your wish came true,” Evil Nurse said.
I was busy staring at the ceiling so I didn’t bother turning toward her. She had no idea what I was wishing each night when I went to bed. I was wishing my heart would stop aching. Because I was thinking about Matt even though Miller was the one holding me. Or maybe I was thinking a little too much about Miller. Which wasn’t fair. No, Matt hadn’t come to rescue me like I’d hoped. But how could he? He thought I was dead.
“Are you not even going to take the phone?” she asked.
I finally turned toward her. She was holding a cell phone out to me. I immediately sat up in bed and tried to grab it.
She pulled away at the last second.
What kind of cruel joke was this?
“Your father is on the line. You will take his call and then hand the phone back. Do we understand each other?”
No. No we did not. I was most definitely going to try to call Matt. But instead of confessing the truth, I just nodded my head.
She handed the phone over and stood there staring at me, her arms crossed in front of her chest.
A little privacy would have been nice. I pulled the phone to my ear. “Hello?”
“How are you feeling, angel?”
