Alice’s POV
“I don’t want to hurt you. And if I am… I don’t mean to.” My voice trembled. “But I need to put my foot down. I can’t keep doing this, you wanting me one moment and pushing me away the next. Not when I want you in a way that doesn’t change with the wind.”
We stood there, locked in a silence that felt like a scream. I stared into his storm-grey eyes, eyes always carrying weight, always holding back.
He dropped his gaze first, as if it burned to meet mine. Slowly, he pulled his hand away and moved to sit on the edge of my bed, the mattress sinking beneath his weight.
“I do want you, Alice,” he murmured, voice low, head bowed. “I do…”
“But?” My heart beat loud in my ears.
He sighed— the kind that sounds like it comes from a place deeper than lungs. “But I can’t go through th
