Unsuitable (Page 62)

He’s going to have one hell of a hangover in the morning.

I unlace his trainers and pull them off. Then, I stare at his trackpants and T-shirt.

Should I undress him?

Maybe not the pants, but I’ll just take his T-shirt off, so he doesn’t get too hot.

I lean over and grab the hem of his T-shirt to lift it.

His hand whips out and catches my wrist, stopping me. “Don’t.” His low voice is a warning.

I swallow back my surprise, feeling like I was just caught doing something wrong. “I was just trying to make you comfortable.”

“Don’t…want you to…see me,” he mumbles. Then, his tight grip on my wrist loosens, and he rolls over.

He doesn’t want me to see him? What the hell is that supposed to mean?

I retreat back, rubbing at my wrist. Leaving the room, I go to the kitchen and get a glass of water and some aspirin for the morning.

I go back to my bedroom, and he looks fast asleep, his breaths deep and even. I put the water and pills on the nightstand, and then I pull the duvet over him, covering him.

Staring down at him, emotion grips my chest.

I reach over and brush his hair back from his face. “Sleep well,” I whisper. Then, I lean in and press my lips to his forehead.

“You’ve made me feel again, Daisy,” he murmurs, surprising me.

I shift back and stare at his face. His eyes are still closed.

Then, he lets out a shallow breath. “You’ve made me feel…and I fucking hate that.”

Sadness engulfs me at his words.

I move back and watch him for a long moment.

Finally, I switch off the lamp. On quiet feet, I move through my room and close the door, leaving him alone.

“You’ve made me feel.”

His words haunt me all the way back to the living room.

I grab the blanket off the back of the armchair and turn off the light.

I could sleep in Jesse’s unused room, but I don’t think I’ll be getting much sleep tonight. So, I lie down on the sofa, cover myself with the blanket, and stare up at the darkened ceiling.

Twenty-Nine

My eyes blink open. The room is at the point where light is just entering dark, casting an eerie glow.

And I’m not alone.

I push myself up to a seated position.

Kas is in the armchair. He’s leaning forward, his forearms resting on his thighs, his hands clasped together, his eyes watching me. I see that his shoes are on his feet, like he’s not staying.

My heart sinks.

“How are you…feeling?” I ask tentatively. My throat is dry, my voice croaky from sleep—or lack of.

When our eyes meet, I see a heavy mixture of pain and regret in his. Those feelings clamp down on my heart, like a vise.

He exhales a tired-sounding breath and looks away from me.

“Haley was my girlfriend,” he says in a quiet voice. “We were together for two years, ever since we were both fifteen. She was my childhood sweetheart, so to speak. She was pretty and sweet and smart and kind. She was just good, Daisy. And I loved her for all those reasons.

“We went to the same high school. We’d just finished our A Levels, and we were going to be heading off to university. We’d both gotten places at Birmingham. We had it all planned. We’d go to university, graduate, get jobs, and then move in together. It was supposed to be the start of our lives. It turned out to be the end of our lives…well, the end of hers.”

I slowly slide my legs off the sofa and put my feet on the floor, so I’m sitting upright. Kas doesn’t even seem to notice I’ve moved. Right now, he’s in a whole other place, and it’s not here with me.

It’s somewhere bad and haunting.

“It was a Saturday night. Our school was hosting a prom at the Marriott Hotel in central London. Haley was so excited to go. She had spent the entire day getting ready. She’d gone to the beauty salon to have her nails, hair, and makeup done.”

His eyes drift across the room, like he’s seeing something else, someone else in another time and place. A soft expression enters his eyes. “She looked beautiful.”

A sad smile touches his lips and quickly clears. “At prom, Haley wasn’t drinking anything, but I had some whiskey with my friends in the restroom. One of them had snuck in a bottle, but I wasn’t drunk, by any means. Prom was coming to a close. We had a limo to take us home, but it was a really great night, and I wasn’t ready for it to be over. So, I suggested to Haley that we take a walk. I thought it’d be romantic, like in the movies.” He lets out a sad-sounding laugh. “So, I told the limo driver to wait. We started walking around the outside of Hyde Park. I suggested we go in. Haley wasn’t sure, but I assured her that we’d be fine.” He lets out a hollow laugh.

“We’d been walking in the park for only about five minutes when I heard footsteps behind us. I hadn’t even known there was anyone else in the park. We hadn’t seen another soul the whole time we were in there. I didn’t think anything was wrong off the bat…until the footsteps got closer and heavier.

“When I glanced back, I saw two guys—older than us, early twenties—and I just knew. I whispered to Haley to walk faster and then to run when we hit the corner. She told me she was afraid. And I told her not to be, that I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.”

His eyes lift to mine, and the pain in them is palpable. Looking away, he starts wringing his hands together.

“When we hit that corner, ready to run, we walked straight into another guy…and he had a knife in his hand. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that they’d cornered us.” He blows out a breath. “I just thought they were going to mug us. Take our stuff and go. But that wasn’t just what they were there for.