Zane's Total Eclipse of the Heart by Zane

Author:Zane
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Atria Books

Brooke

May 3, 2008

I CAME by the diner this afternoon,” Patrick said before I could even get into the door good. “I also called to see if you had a doctor’s appointment. Where were you?”

I glared at Patrick like he was crazy. “Patrick, it’s late. My class ran long tonight and I really need to take a bath and hit the sack. I have to be at work early. I promised Hank that I would work a double shift to make up for today.”

Patrick grabbed my upper arm. “Stop all that yakking and rambling and answer my damn question. Why weren’t you at work today?”

“Let go of me, Patrick,” I warned him. “I’m not a rag doll; I’m a human being.”

Patrick released me reluctantly. I was waiting on him to revert back to his old ways and call me a bitch. I would have been out the door so fast that it would have made his head spin.

“You keep saying that you’ve changed,” I said to him. “And you’ve been doing better lately, I will give you that, but don’t mistake my being here as submission. Most of my shit is still over at Destiny’s, so if you want to come out your mouth at me any kind of way, I can give a brand-new meaning to the term gone in sixty seconds.”

I walked into the living room and put down my backpack.

“So how was class?” he asked, trying to change up his game and be nice.

“It was fine. Everything’s coming along.”

“You don’t have to take those night classes, Brooke. You don’t even have to work. Why won’t you let me take care of you?”

“Two reasons, Patrick. I want to have a purpose to my life.” I used the word purpose because Damon had used it earlier that day. His purpose was Able Minded Dating, and I had to have a purpose as well.

“Okay, so you want to have a purpose. What’s the other reason?”

“If I ever allowed you to take care of me completely, that would only signify control to you. I may not have your economic stature and I probably never will, but I do have pride and I won’t be controlled. Not anymore.”

“Are you trying to say that I’ve controlled you in the past?”

I sat down on the sofa and he took a seat beside me, glaring at me; I could tell that he was trying to hold back his anger at my implication.

“Yes, Patrick, in many ways, I allowed you to control my mind and my actions in the past. Catching you with Mandawhore changed all of that for me. It made me realize that your love for me can be easily penetrated. It made me—”

“I have not talked to Mandy. Not Mandy or anyone else.”

“I want to believe you . . . I really do. Once trust is lost, it does not come back on autopilot. It has to be regenerated, and all I can say is that I’m trying. I’m making a serious attempt to have faith that I’m woman enough for you.

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