The Kathryn Croft Psychological Thriller Collection by Kathryn Croft

Author:Kathryn Croft
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Canelo Digital Publishing Ltd
Published: 2022-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

* * *

I sit on the bed, feeling out of place in Rhys’ bedroom. There are posters of rock bands plastered over the walls and more musical instruments than furniture. All that’s in here is a desk with a laptop and some school books open on it, a computer chair and, of course, the bed I am sitting on. I feel like a teenager again, as if I am in my first boyfriend’s room. Rhys is nothing like Sean, but there is an unmistakably similar scent lingering in the air. It is neither pleasant nor unpleasant, but reminds me I don’t belong here.

I could have ended this over the phone or even somewhere public, but I can’t risk being seen. Thankfully, Rhys’ parents are away and we have the place to ourselves.

Sitting at his desk, Rhys watches me sip my coffee. ‘How is it?’ he asks.

‘Getting better,’ I say with a grin. These days my sense of humour only seems to surface when I’m with him.

‘Good. Can I sit next to you?’

‘Rhys, I think we should talk.’

‘Okay, but let me sit with you.’ He moves towards me and I don’t stop him. He looks beautiful today, his dark fringe flopping in his face, and I don’t know whether I’ve always thought this, or if kissing him has changed my perception. But I can’t do this. No part of it is right, despite how it feels.

With Rhys sitting on the bed beside me, I yearn for him again, like a drug addict desperate for another fix. I was like this with James in the beginning, before life got in the way. But something is different with Rhys, like nothing I’ve felt before. Perhaps this is because it is so wrong?

‘Callie, I really like you. Last night was…’

I want to agree, to tell him how good it felt to kiss him, but I have to remind myself why I am here.

I take his hand and draw circles on his palm with my finger. ‘Nothing can happen, Rhys. It just can’t.’

‘Why?’ he whispers, leaning in to kiss me.

I pull back. ‘So many reasons. I’m married. You’re seventeen. You’re Dillon’s best friend. Do I need to carry on?’

‘I’m eighteen in a few weeks.’ He smiles triumphantly.

‘It doesn’t matter!’ I stand up. ‘I’m sorry it’s gone as far as it has, but we can’t do this any more. Whatever it is, stops now.’

‘But you came here. You came here to see me.’

It is now I realise my actions are inconsistent with my words and that he is only observing what my presence proves. That I want him, I need him.

‘I’m not giving you up,’ Rhys says, pulling me down onto the mattress. And then he is kissing me, and once more I am powerless to stop him, my strength to end this before it has begun evaporating. He reaches under my shirt, his hands smooth and cool, and I groan in his ear. ‘You like me too,’ he says. ‘I know you do.’

I don’t answer, but wrestle his T-shirt over his head and pull him on top of me.

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