Allie
“I am asking you to stay with me permanently.”
For several seconds, I only stared at Chase.
The guest room suddenly felt too quiet.
His hand remained around mine, warm and steady, while my thoughts moved in too many directions at once.
Permanently.
The word felt larger than the room.
Larger than the suitcase still partly unpacked near the wardrobe.
Larger than the coffee cups, shared dinners, and clothes slowly appearing in his laundry.
I had been staying with him because someone was watching me.
Because my apartment was unsafe.
Because security believed this house offered better protection.
That arrangement had always come with an end.
Even when neither of us discussed it, I believed there would be a day when the police cleared my apartment, my belongings were returned,
