Safety Measures by Maeve Hazel

Author:Maeve Hazel [Hazel, Maeve]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-10-11T04:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

ARES

I let her go and regret it as soon as I hear the door clicking shut, her footsteps echoing away from me and what we just shared.

My feet itch to chase after what’s mine, to carry her back into my room and force her to talk about whatever happened in that head of hers, but my mind makes two connections I hate.

One, I know how she felt all those years ago when I left after our kiss, and two, she doesn’t trust me either.

It’s not like I gave her any reason to confide in me. Every time things got serious, I removed myself from the situation, thinking I was protecting her, when in reality, I was breaking her to the bones.

Blaise’s choice to leave the moment feelings got too intense was her way of doing what she had to do—guard herself around me because I was the one to fuck it up when she handed me her heart on a silver platter.

Now I understand why I couldn’t bring myself to kiss her when she told me I could do it only when I have feelings for her. And it’s not because I don’t have feelings for Blaise—I always have, no matter if they were innocent or not. It’s because deep down, I knew that rule was meant to mirror the little trust she has in me.

It would’ve been so easy just to kiss her and pick it up from where we left off, and maybe if she didn’t leave now, I would’ve. But there was a chance that doing it was a sign-up for failure and a replay of our past, something I’m not going to risk happening ever again.

In a twisted kind of way, I’m glad she left because, after this wake-up call, I know I have to do something about regaining the trust of the most important people in my life.

I reach for my phone on the nightstand to dial August but stop midway when the door to my room opens.

“Can we talk?” my brother asks from the doorframe.

His question releases some of the tension in my body, being a confirmation that he hates us fighting as much as I do. It also proves how mature he is, and my chest blooms with pride at the thought.

“Yeah.” I lean my elbows on my knees. “Come in.”

He walks in and takes a seat on the chair before clearing his throat. “I know I shouldn’t have kept this from you—I’m sorry for that. It’s just that I never hated Mom like you do.” I huff, but he continues. “I know the bad stuff kind of outweighs the good now, and I won’t try to make you forgive her, but I just wanted you to know why I talked to her.”

Tamara's a great manipulator with toxicity ready to burn to ashes everything she touches, so I don’t blame him for falling for her theatrics and lies. She’s still his mother after all, and I have to give her credit for how believable she can be sometimes.

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