“I told you I liked the other guy more.”

I somehow laugh between all my tears. Emory steps forward and hugs me, and as strange as she is, I’m more grateful to her than I’ve ever been to anyone in my life.

“Thank you so much for eavesdropping.”

She laughs. “My pleasure.” She pulls back and looks me in the eye. “Are you okay? Did he hurt you?”

I shake my head and pull my hand up to my lip to see if it’s still bleeding. It is, but before I can turn to the kitchen, Emory is already tearing a paper towel off the holder. She turns on the faucet just as a knock lands against the door.

We both turn and look at the door.

“Auburn.” It’s Trey’s voice. “Auburn, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

He’s crying. That, or he’s a really good actor.

“We need to talk about this. Please.”

I know Owen is probably on his way over right now after all of his frantic texts, so I just want to get rid of Trey before they come face-to-face. That’s the last thing I need tonight. I walk to the door, but I don’t unlock it.

“We’ll talk about this tomorrow,” I say through the door. “I need space tonight, Trey.”

A few seconds pass and he says, “Okay. Tomorrow.”

CHAPTER TWENTY

Owen

I pull into a parking garage across the street from her apartment so Trey doesn’t see my car.

When I’m out of my car and across the street, I keep running until I’m beating on her front door.

“Auburn!” I keep knocking. “Auburn, let me in!”

I can hear the locks begin to unlatch one by one, and with each lock that opens, I somehow grow more and more nervous. When she finally opens the door, and I see her standing in front of me, every part of me exhales, even my heart.

Remnants of tears line her cheeks, and the two seconds it takes to enter her apartment and pull her to me feel like an hour too long. “Are you okay?”

Her arms wrap around me and I reach back to shut the door. I lock it and then pull her to me just as she nods.

“I’m fine.”

Her voice is anything but fine. She sounds terrified. I push her away from me until she’s at arm’s length, and I take her in.

Her hair is a mess.

Her shirt is torn.

Her lip is bleeding.

Her head is moving back and forth and she’s telling me no. She can see the fury in my eyes, just as I turn around and begin to unlock the door.

He can fuck with me all he wants. I draw the line when it comes to her.

Her hands are on my arms, pulling me away from the door. “Owen, stop.” I swing open the door and step into the hall, but she pushes herself in front of me and puts her hands on my chest. “You’re angry. Calm down first. Please.”

I breathe in and out, attempting to calm myself down. But only because she said please. I hope she never finds out that hearing her say that one word could convince me to do anything she wants. Ever.

She urges me back inside her apartment. I walk to the counter and rest my arms on it, pressing my forehead against them.

I close my eyes, and I contemplate.

I think about what he might do next. I think about where he might go. I think about where she needs to be so that she’s safe from him.

I don’t have answers to any of those thoughts, other than the last one. She needs to be with me. I’m not letting her out of my sight tonight.

I straighten up and turn around to face her. “Get your things. We’re leaving.”

I choose to take her to a hotel for the night because I don’t trust her being at my studio with me. I’m still not sure what happened between the two of them and I don’t know what he’s capable of at this point.

She looks over her shoulder the entire way to our room, so I take her hand in mine and try to give her reassurance that she’s safe for the night.

Once we’re inside the hotel room and I shut the door, it feels as though the air is different in here. Like there’s more of it, because she’s finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. I hate that she’s been so worried, and knowing that Trey is a huge part of her life makes me even more concerned for her.

She slips her shoes off and takes a seat on the bed. I sit down beside her and take her hand in mine again.

“Will you tell me what happened?”

She inhales slowly with another nod. “He showed up right before I saw your texts. At first, I didn’t think he was capable of doing something like you were suggesting, but when he walked into my room, I saw it. There was something in the way he looked at me. The first thing he did was ask about Sparkles.”

I don’t want to interrupt her, but I have no idea what Sparkles means.

“Sparkles?”

She shoots me a quick, embarrassed smile. “I told him Owen-Cat was Emory’s, and that her name was Sparkles.”

I shake my head in confusion. “Why would he ask about my cat?” As soon as the question leaves my mouth, the answer becomes clear. “He was in my studio,” I say. “He must have seen her and put two and two together.”

She nods, but she stops talking. I wait for her to continue her story, but she doesn’t.

“What happened next?”

She shrugs. “He just . . .”

She starts crying, quietly, so I give her a minute to continue at her own pace.

“He started talking about AJ and buying a house and . . . then he started kissing me. When I asked him to stop . . .” She pauses again and inhales a quick breath. “He said something about me and you being together in your bed, and that’s when I knew he read my confession. I tried to get away but he held me down. That’s when Emory walked in.”