286

MAXINE

I held my breath as Ronan kept his eyes on mine. When he was close enough, he stopped. Neither of us said a word. The battle continued around us but I couldn't get myself to make the first move.

He didn't either. I wondered if it was hard for him to see me. I wondered if he thought he could fight me. I also wondered if he thought that he could kill me.

I spoke up first. “Ronan,” I called. My voice was sounding more longing than I wanted.

I missed him, to be honest. I missed sitting down in the quiet and reading books. Strangely, I missed making his cinnamon coffee.

Ronan didn't say anything. Instead, he took a step closer. “You don’t have to do this,” he said.

There was no hurt, no anger in his voice, just nothing but kindness. I wished he would yell. I wished he would curse me and call me evil for everything I've done.

“Come with me.” He said, softly. I heard it regardless of the noise. “We can fix this, Maxine. We'll leave everything behind together.”

It sounded so good. But,