I don’t answer.
After a few seconds, he lets out a frustrated breath. “Fine,” he mutters. “Go.”
I tidy Anika’s room, not that it ever really needs it. The only mess comes from the toys Sebastian leaves scattered around. I move them into a neat pile, dusting the surfaces as I go, humming softly to myself while my mind drifts.
“People stare,” Anika mutters. I pause, cloth in hand, and glance back at her. “They stare,” she repeats, quieter this time. “That’s why I hate the chair.”
I turn fully to face her now, leaning lightly against the dresser.
“It starts small,” she continues. “Sitting in it around the apartment. Then you’ll want me to go further . . . outside.” She lets out a humourless laugh. “And I hate it.” Her eyes flick to mine. “My body might be dead from the chest down, but my mind isn’t. I see everything. The looks. The pity.”
“Pity?” I ask gently.
“They look at me and try to work it out,” she says. “The long blonde hair, the pretty face . . . and then this.” Her voice tightens. “A young woman going to waste.”
Something in my chest aches. “It’s only a waste if you decide it is,” I say softly. “You’re still here, Anika. You’re still you.”
She narrows her eyes. “If you throw Stephen Hawking at me, I will scream.”
I hold my hands up quickly. “Not even on my radar.”
That earns the faintest twitch of her lips.
“I’m just saying,” I continue, gentler now, “you must get bored being stuck in here all the time.”
“I don’t get bored,” she mutters. “I just . . . exist.”
My heart twists and I take a step closer. “How about a compromise?” I suggest. “No big leaps. No pressure. Just the living room.”
She watches me carefully. “That’s it?” she asks.
“That’s it,” I promise. “We go as far as the living room. If you hate it, we come straight back. No arguments. No pushing.”
She studies my face, like she’s trying to decide if I mean it. “I won’t force you into anything,” I add quietly. “But I won’t let you hide from life either.”
A long pause stretches between us. “Just the living room,” she says finally.
I smile, soft but genuine. “Just the living room.”
RAY
I can’t shake the pissed-off feeling clinging to me. The way Wynter pulled back last night, like the second she realised what we’d done, she instantly regretted it. Maybe it was guilt, but I checked beforehand that it was what she wanted, and she didn’t give two shits about her preppy-looking boyfriend then.
I groan, dragging a hand down my face.
Why the fuck did I bother? I’ve gone almost a year without a woman in my bed, and now she’s all I can think about.
I step into the apartment, tossing my keys onto the side.
Laughter hits me first.Anika’s.I look up, surprised to find her in the living room . . . in her chair.Wynter sits beside her, the television playing some mindless show they both seem glued to.
For a second . . . I just stand there taking it in.
Then I move forward until I’m in her line of sight. “You’re up.”
Anika grins. “What do you think? Does it suit me?”
I can’t help the smile that pulls at my lips. “Yeah,” I say softly, stepping closer. “It does.” I lean down and kiss her cheek.