You need to leave her alone. Knowing you will only cause her more pain.
I’ve told myself this same thing, time and time again.
I can only offer her danger and heartache. There’s nothing safe about knowing me. No matter how much I wish it were different.
Slowly, I lower my hands. The magnified view of my obsession slipping away.
My eyes stay on her, but I’ve lost her features. Her sorrowful eyes now hidden by distance.
Leave.
Leave now and never come back.
But as I start to stand, so does Payton.
I freeze.
She’s walking across her small living room, toward me, and my heart beats harder with each step.
Payton stops with her hand resting on the handle of the sliding glass door, the one I walked through a few weeks ago. She blinks, then heaves the door open.
A gust of wind, that I k
