5. Wick

Fifty-three minutes later, a hard knock sounded on my apartment door, making me shoot up from my seat where I’d been restlessly playing Gardenscapes on my phone.

Moments before, I’d been tempted to delete the entire app, because the spreading honey level was pissing me the fuck off. But this waiting-for-Haven’s-parents-to-show horseshit was making me antsy enough that I kept playing the mind-numbing game and matching up three lines of fruit against the damn honey, anyway, batting it back as if I were fighting an approaching wildfire. And dying every round.

Tossing my phone down as the honey consumed a leaf and a pear, I strode toward the door. Izzy popped up from where she’d been sitting across the room as me, cross-legged and madly typing on her laptop.

I sliced her a warning glance as she tried to follow. “Why don’t you stay back a bit? They’re probably still pissed at me for putting them through the wringer.” I didn’t want anyone’s anger spilling over onto my sister.

Rolling her eyes, Izzy darted around me. “Wow, Wick. You can be so dramatically overprotective sometimes. I’ll be fine.” And before I could stop her, she pulled the door open wide. “Hi! You must be Haven’s dad. I’m Izzy. Izzy Webster, Wick’s sister. Come on in.”

I shook my head and glanced up at the ceiling for patience while Haven’s dad stepped into my apartment. He was tall, just an inch or two shorter than me, with dark hair and eyes that were bluer than his daughter’s. He had a solid presence, nothing about him soft or giving, which told me if he decided to come at me for initially keeping his daughter from him, it would probably hurt. A lot.

After eyeing Izzy as if he didn’t seem to know how to handle her, he merely nodded respectfully before his gaze lifted to me. Eyes narrowing and expression hardening, he demanded, “Where’s my daughter?”

I motioned toward the couch with a tip of my head, and he zipped his attention that way. Heaving out a huge, relieved breath, he tripped toward her and fell to his knees at her side.

“HayHay.” Reverently, he reached out trembling fingers and gently cupped her hair.

She woke to his touch, sucking in a breath and fluttering her eyelashes open. When she focused on him, she started to sit up as she murmured a confused, “Dad?”

“Oh, baby girl,” he choked out, pulling her into his arms and squeezing her tight. “You have no idea how happy I am to see you. Your mom and I were scared shitless.”

“You were?” She patted his shoulder in reassurance. “But why? I’m fine. I…” Then she glanced around and furrowed her brow in a daze. My gut tensed as she took in my front room. Shaking her head slightly, she hollowly admitted, “I have no idea where I am, or how I got here.”

“Ooh! I can answer that,” Izzy spoke up, waving her hand to get Haven’s attention. “We brought you here. And this is Wick’s apartment.”

“Wick?” Haven focused on her with a clueless frown as if trying to figure out who she was before she focused on me. Recognition immediately lit her gaze, and her eyes widened. “Oh.” She shook her head as if to clear it.

I could tell the exact moment she remembered everything she’d been through; her cheeks blanched of all color.

Turning back to her father, she immediately gushed, “God, I’m so sorry. You didn’t have to come all the way up here just for this. That’s like an hour-and-a-half drive, Dad. And with Mom—” Pausing suddenly, she squinted to glance around the room once more. “Where’s Mom?”

“She’s—ah shit.” Haven’s dad lurched to his feet. “She’s probably halfway to the door by now. I told her I’d come back for her as soon as I made sure everything was safe here. But you know her. Why would she listen to me?”

Haven stood from the couch and followed him as he rushed to the exit. “Why wouldn’t it be safe here? What’re you talking about? Dad! What is going on?” she asked right before he pulled the door open and huffed out an aggravated breath.

“I told you I’d come right back for you,” he started irritably, addressing whoever was on the other side. “How the hell did you make it up the steps, anyway?”

Stepping aside, he let the newcomer in, and my eyes grew wide with surprise as a woman in a wheelchair rolled into the apartment.

Her gaze flamed angrily at Haven’s dad as she answered, “You’d be surprised the things a mother will do to get to her child.” Then she promptly drove over his foot.

On purpose.

Jerking his shoe back, Haven’s dad yelped, “Ouch! Shit,” and hopped around in pain. “What the hell, babe?”

His wife merely sniffed. “Guess you shouldn’t have left me in the van.” Then ignoring him completely, she turned to focus on Haven, where her scowl melted into sympathy. “Oh, honey,” she cooed.

“Mama.” Haven’s bottom lip trembled as she surged forward and climbed onto the wheelchair, directly into her mother’s lap, where her mom wrapped quivering arms around her and pulled Haven close.

“Topher cheated on me,” Haven sobbed, burying her face in her mom’s neck.

“Son of a bitch,” her dad hissed, kneeling so he could set his hand on Haven’s back. When he met his wife’s concerned gaze over Haven’s shoulder, their marital spat seemed to dissolve so their daughter’s misery could take front and center.

“In my dorm room,” Haven went on, her voice muffled against her mom’s shoulder. “With my roommate. I came home, and they were there, naked on the couch, still…you know…in the middle of it. And…and…he had to pull out of her to…” Words failed her as she drew in a shuddering breath. “It was awful. It was so awful.”

“Fuck,” I said under my breath, my hands squeezing tight into fists down at my sides as I watched Haven try to pull herself together. Next to me, Izzy grasped my arm as if trying to comfort me.

“I thought I was seeing things,” Haven choked out. “It just seemed so impossible and unbelievable, and yet…” She cupped her face in her hands as she shook her head and glanced between her parents. “All I know is that I can’t go back there. I’m not ever going back to that apartment again.”

“Of course, you’re not,” her mother reassured, stroking her hair. “We’ll go get your things, and you’ll be done with that entire building forever.”

Haven started to nod until she paused. “Don’t get the couch though,” she instructed. “I don’t want that couch anymore.”

“I might set it on fire,” her dad announced, dead serious.

Haven sent him a trembling smile until more tears poured down her cheeks. “Oh, Dad. I feel so stupid.” She dived off her mom’s lap to hug him around the neck.

He caught her to him and rocked her back and forth as he stroked her hair. “You are not stupid,” he commanded harshly. “Don’t ever think that.”

“But how did I not know, or see it coming, or even sense it a little? I mean, I knew he was…. You know. He was Topher, but this…this just blindsided me. And…and…and then I think I overreacted. Like completely through-the-roof, crazy overreaction. People break up and get cheated on all the time, right? But here I took my reaction to the extreme. I was so upset I blacked out completely, and I don’t even remember how I got here. I can’t believe I was so weak and pathetic, or that I—”

“Hey, shh,” her dad scolded in a soft yet stern voice. “You are not weak or pathetic. We all fall apart at times. Especially when our foundation gets ripped out from under us. Hell, I’ve held your mother while she’s fallen apart in my arms, and you and I both know she’s the strongest person there is.”

“That’s true,” Haven mumbled, glancing at her mom as she wiped her nose with the back of her hand. “She really is.”

“And I’ve done the same for your father,” her mom added with a soft smile. “The point is that we find a way to get back up after we fall down.”

Haven nodded as if trying to bolster her resolve, only for her face to crumble as she admitted, “I just can’t believe he knocked me down in the first place. Not literally, of course,” she hastened to add when her dad tensed and curled his mouth into a snarl. “Just, you know, metaphorically. I can’t believe he would do this to me. I thought…” She shook her head helplessly. Then her chin trembled. “I thought we loved each other.”

Something acidic roiled through my stomach as those words echoed through my head. Glancing away because it suddenly felt as if I were intruding on a private moment, I touched Izzy’s arm to get her attention.

When she looked up, I hitched my head to the side, silently telling her we needed to go somewhere else. But as soon as we took a step toward the hallway, Haven’s mom caught sight of us.

“You must be Wick,” she said before her gaze moved to Izzy and softened. “And…Izzy, right?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Izzy bobbed her head like an eager puppy. “It’s so nice to meet you, Mrs. Gamble. I’m sorry we, uh…” She winced when she glanced at me, then snapped her attention back to Haven’s mom. “Sorry we made you guys jump through so many hoops before we told you where Haven was.”

“Hoops?” Haven echoed in confusion as she slipped from her dad’s hug and stood, looking Izzy’s way and then mine.

“Yeah, your friend’s a real peach over there,” Mr. Gamble answered bitterly, scowling at me as he pushed his way to his feet as well. “After Topher called us, looking for you, and freaked us the fuck out, we tried to contact you on your cell, but these two answered. And they refused to tell us where you were—or maybe I should say he refused—until we proved to him that we were good parents and would take care of you.”

“Really?” Seemingly amused by that, Haven snorted out a laugh and turned my way. “I’m sorry I missed that conversation.”

When she made eye contact with me, I felt pinned and dissected. It almost made me ache and miss those few moments she’d been out of her mind and had needed me so strongly because the girl looking at me now would never need anything from me. Even as distraught as she was, she was capable, composed, and utterly independent. And she saw too much. She saw me as…me, as if she’d just stripped me down to raw, bare bone, exposing every flaw and deficiency I’d ever had or would have.

My noble, heroic moment was definitely over.

Suddenly, her dad stepped in between us as if he were trying to sever the force of our stare. “Yeah, he really did. And asshat that he was about it, it seems he at least kept his word and watched over you until we arrived.”

“Yeah,” Haven murmured vaguely, glancing down at herself to make sure she really was okay. “I guess he did.” Then she frowned and lifted her foot. “Except I’m missing my flip-flop.”

“Oh!” Izzy burst forward, a flurry of motion as she raced to her pile of bags on the chair in the corner. “I stuffed it in a bag for you. Since Wick carried you, you didn’t really need it, and besides, we didn’t have a ton of time to put it on you. We had to move quickly and get you out of the building undetected because your boyfriend—I mean, Topher—and some of his friends were staking out Dandridge Hall, looking all over the place for you.”

“Wait. Topher had his friends looking for me?” Haven shuddered in alarm over that bit of news as Izzy handed her shoe back. When she took it, she looked down at the flip-flop dazedly for a moment before lifting her face to Iz and hugging the shoe to her chest. “You went to a lot of trouble to help me get away from him, didn’t you?”

“Well…” Izzy shrugged as if suddenly bashful. “You said you didn’t want to talk to him.”

Haven nodded. “I didn’t want to. Thank you.”

Izzy glanced my way. “Actually, it was Wick who did most of the work of getting you out of there.”

“Oh.” Haven glanced my way again. She didn’t tell me thank you, though. She just stared at me as if trying to figure me out. I didn’t know how the fuck to respond, or even if I was supposed to, so I just stared back.

Which seemed to freak her dad out. He once again stepped between us before gripping Haven’s arm. “Well, thanks for keeping her safe until we could arrive.” He turned her toward the door. “But we’ll take it from here.”

Haven paused, frowning up at him. “No, whoa. Take me where? I’m not going back there.”

“I know. So you’re coming home with us.” Mr. Gamble opened the door and then reached for one of the handholds to his wife’s chair.

Except Haven stepped out of his reach, shaking her head. “No. I’m sorry but I can’t go home tonight, either. I have classes tomorrow. I’m in the middle of a semester. Dad, I… I can’t.”

He nodded as if to agree with her even as he reached out to grasp her arm again. “Don’t worry. You only have two days left this week. Two days won’t change anything. We can talk about the rest of your semester this weekend. At home.”

“But I’m not going home,” she insisted softly, her gaze turning apologetic as she studied him. “Don’t you get it? I can’t,” she repeated with more force. “I refuse to let him send me running back to the safety of my parents with my tail tucked between my legs. He’s not going to make me crumble and he’s not going to take my education away from me. I have to stay here, in town, and go to class tomorrow.”

“God,” Mr. Gamble muttered, his eyes watering as he set a fist against his mouth. “You always have to be my brave, stubborn little girl, don’t you?” Then he turned to his wife. “Sarah, talk some damn sense into her, will you? She doesn’t have to recover from this in one fucking night.”

“And I’m sure she won’t,” Mrs. Gamble answered, smiling at her daughter as if proud of her before she reached out a twitching hand to congratulate Haven for her fearlessness.

Haven gripped her mother’s fingers and squeezed. “Mom.”

“Where exactly are you going to stay, though?” her mom asked. “Since you’re not going back to your dormitory.”

“I…” Haven looked suddenly lost, and her chest heaved as if she might start hyperventilating. “I don’t know,” she nearly whispered. Her fingers trembled as she cupped the sides of her throat. “I can call…someone. One of my friends. Except…”

“Except what?” her dad encouraged.

Haven shook her head and cringed. “All my friends these days are part of Topher’s group. And if I call them, they might call him. But I just…” She lifted her hands and took a step back. “I really don’t want to deal with him tonight.”

“I could call Mason,” her mom suggested. “He’s the closest family, only half an hour away. He and Reese would take you in for the night, and you could still make it to class in the morning, no problem.”

But Haven kept shaking her head back and forth, rejecting that idea too. “I just… I feel as if I shouldn’t go to family right now.”

“What?” her parents exploded together.

“Why the fuck not?” her dad demanded.

“That’s just ridiculous,” her mom added. “Family is the first place you go in a situation like this.”

“Yeah, but…” Haven’s eyes turned huge and begging and miserable. “I have to do it this way. I have to do it on my own, or I…” Her voice cracked as she addressed both parents, “Or I know I’m going to rely on you guys too much. You’ll turn into my crutch, and then I’ll never really pull myself back together again. But I don’t want to do that to you. I don’t want to do that to myself. So, I just…I have to stay in town tonight or I’ll fall apart completely. This is the right decision. I feel it in my bones.”

“Stupid, stubborn bravery,” her dad muttered under his breath as he hastily ripped a hand through his hair. Then he turned to his wife, scowling.

Simultaneously, they said, “She gets that from you.”

Haven blurted out a watery laugh. “You two,” she started, shaking her head affectionately, only for tears to glisten in her eyes. “I love you both so much. And of course, my first instinct is to just go with you right now and let you take care of me. But this is like a test to myself, to see if I have what it takes to manage my own problems.”

“But where are you going to stay?” her mom repeated.

“I don’t know yet.” She looked like a small, helpless child when she hugged herself with her shoulders curling in and hunching miserably. “Just give me a second to think.”

I couldn’t handle seeing her fall apart again, so I turned to Izzy beseechingly. She didn’t have a roommate in her dorm room. She usually just dumped her unfolded laundry on the spare bed in there. It was still in the same building as her last apartment, so I bet Haven could get transferred to Izzy’s room without any issues.

Except when Izzy lifted her hand to get everyone’s attention, what she said was, “Wick’s been looking for a roommate.”

Wait, what?

My mouth dropped open. “Izzy!” I gasped incredulously. What the hell was she doing? That wasn’t what she was supposed to say.

“What?” she asked defensively. “It’s true. You were telling me just earlier tonight how tight your budget was going to be until you found someone else to sub-rent the extra room to.”

“Yeah, but—”

“There’s an extra room here?” Haven asked, the curious hopefulness in her tone making me gape at her as if she were as crazy as my sister.

“There sure is. And it’s a pretty decent size too,” Izzy answered, bouncing like she did when she got excited. “Do you want to see it? There’s no private bathroom to your room, but Wick’s room has one that he uses, so I’m sure you could just take over the guest bath down the hall and have that one all to yourself, which has a full shower and tub in it and everything, and you guys wouldn’t have to share bathrooms at all.”

Haven blinked before murmuring in awe, “I could have my own bathroom?”

“Yes! You totally could.” Izzy nodded with an eager smile. “Here. I’ll show you around.”

“Um...” I lifted my hand to intrude.

But Izzy was already leading Haven away, down the hall and explaining, “I would’ve moved in myself if it weren’t mandatory for freshmen to stay in the dorms if they’re not living at home.”

As they disappeared out of sight, I turned to Haven’s parents, thinking they would back my reluctance to such a ridiculous plan, because there was no way Haven should live here. No way at all. Playing hero and holding her while she fell apart was one thing, but living with her? That was the most insane thing I’d ever heard. It just…it couldn’t happen.

But, oddly enough, her mom and dad didn’t seem as appalled as I thought they’d be, which freaked me the fuck out.

“Um...” I repeated, not sure what to say but feeling the need to speak my reluctance aloud. And insistently.

“You hadn’t considered the idea of having a female roommate, had you?” Her mom guessed, seemingly more amused than alarmed.

“No,” I answered, shaking my head slowly. “I hadn’t. At all.”

Her dad nodded, glancing around as if mulling the thought over in his head. “You throw a lot of parties here?”

“No. Never.”

Wait. Why was I answering him? Hell, why was I answering him honestly? I should be scaring him off right about now.

But why the fuck wasn’t he already scared? Hadn’t Nicholl told these two enough awful shit when he’d been bashing me to them?

So I bluntly demanded, “Why do you guys even look like you’re considering the idea? Don’t you hate me?”

Yes, remember the hate. Please remember that you hate me.

Mr. Gamble chuckled as if surprised. “Oh, we’re not considering anything since we’re not the ones moving in. Haven is, and she makes up her own damn mind about shit, whether we like it or not. Besides, how could we hate you? We don’t even know you.”

“But you helped our daughter in her time of need,” his wife added. “And that goes a long way with us.”

“What about drugs?” her husband went on, still freaking considering the idea. “Alcohol?” Finished scoping out the room and nodding as if satisfied with how well it had been constructed, he returned his gaze to me with a sharp kind of dissection. “Women?”

“Dad, please,” Haven groaned as she returned to the living room, Izzy trailing along behind her. “Everyone on the team gets screened for drugs every couple of weeks. And I’ve honestly never seen Wick at a party with the rest of the guys. So he probably drinks less than I do. And women…” With a shrug, she added, “That shouldn’t be an issue either. I heard he was gay.” Then she pointed at me and narrowed her eyes. “Just don’t sleep with any of my boyfriends, and you’ll be a better roommate than my last one.”

My mouth opened and jaw worked, but no words came.

Next to me, Izzy blurted out a giggle before she announced, “Wick’s not gay. What in the world gave you that idea?”

“I…” Haven looked momentarily nonplussed before she blushed. “Oh my God, I’m so sorry. I swear Topher said you were—”

“Topher?” I cut her off with a snort as I shook my head. Yeah, good ol’ Topher. “I’m sure he did,” I muttered bitterly, only to meet Haven’s gaze. “But...no, sorry. Not gay.”

Except I wasn’t that sorry about it at all, because I sincerely hoped my newly revealed straight status might actually derail her from this crazy train of an idea she was riding.

But all she did was tilt her head to the side, studying me. “You probably never called me a horse-faced troll then, either, did you?” she murmured thoughtfully.

I sniffed. “He tell you that one, too?” When she nodded, I shook my head slowly, unable to comprehend what I was hearing. “And you actually believed him?”

“Well.” She shrugged. “I didn’t have any reason not to.”

“But you own a mirror, right?” I bit out dryly. She had to know she was gorgeous enough to steal a guy’s breath straight from his lungs. “How could you honestly not know you’re fucking beaut—”

Cutting myself off abruptly, I clamped my mouth shut to keep from complimenting my archenemy’s girlfriend—er, sorry…ex-girlfriend—and I turned my attention to her parents, where her dad arched his eyebrows as if daring me to finish my sentence, and her mom looked as if she might burst out laughing any moment.

Teeth clenched tight, I returned my attention to Haven, whose mouth had dropped open as she gaped at me.

“The point is,” I growled, trying to get back on track and ignore how everyone was waiting for me to finish telling Haven Gamble how exquisite I thought she looked. “I’m not gay. Or blind.”

She rolled her eyes and huffed out a breath. “And I don’t care; just don’t have sex in the front room while I’m home, and we should be good. Oh!” She snapped her fingers, then pointed at me. “And try not to eat the food I specifically label as mine. My last roommate had a bad habit of doing that too. The bitch,” she growled under her breath. “Never could keep her grubby hands off my things.”

I shook my head. Dammit. I’d been counting on my straight-status to spook her.

“Yeah, I don’t think you have to worry about Wick there,” Izzy announced slowly. “He’s pretty private. Keeps to himself. And he has three sisters, no brothers, so I can personally assure you he’s very decent about respecting girl things. He’s definitely no stranger to bras or tampons lying around, even though you guys won’t even share a bathroom or bedroom, so that wouldn’t be an issue, anyway. And he’s always been deferential to labeled food.” Rolling her eyes dramatically, she finished with, “Charlie’s the big food thief in our family. She’s such a pain.”

Haven blinked at her slowly, obviously never having experienced an Izzy before. Then she said, “Okay, thanks. That sounds good.” She turned back to me. “So how much is rent?”

“But...” I started, only to glance away because with her gaze focused on me and her eyes being so big, and beautiful, and pleading, it was hard to concentrate when she was looking at me like that, which brought up reason number eight thousand, six hundred and ninety-three why she absolutely could not be my roommate.

I couldn’t live with someone I was so attracted to; I’d never be able to relax…or concentrate…or breathe right. This was my home; the one place where I could get away from the rest of the world and just...not worry about anything. If I was constantly on guard here, what the hell would my life become? The mere prospect sent a panicked flush straight through my chest.

But how in God’s name did I communicate that to the girl, especially with her parents standing right there, staring at me? I wished I could just pull out the introvert’s guidebook and point out commandment number one: thou shall not invade the afflicted’s private space.

Then her mom went and bluntly said, “We can tell you’re reluctant about this, Wick. What exactly is your main issue against the idea?”

I sent her an incredulous glance for putting me on the spot even further and couldn’t help but wonder why they were so for the idea.

There were hundreds of reasons I could’ve listed off, number one being the fact that her moving in with me when her ex was my archenemy would pretty much place a target right on my chest. But being an epic failure at talking and explaining myself, I waved out a hand blindly and blurted, “I don’t want her here because, you know...boobs.”

There. I said it. They’d forced me to say what was on my damn mind. I hoped they were happy now.

Except Haven lowered her brow and squinted in confusion. “Because...boobs?” she repeated slowly, clearly not understanding.

I ground my teeth. Great. Not only were they going to force me to be honest, but now they wanted me to explain myself too? I swear, the entire family was aggravating as hell.

“Yes!” I spat moodily. “Boobs. Breasts. Tits. Whatever you want to call them.” I motioned vaguely toward her chest. “You have them. I’m going to want to see them. Every time I walk into a room, I’m going to be all tense and shit, thinking about them, wondering...is this the time I’m finally going to catch her by surprise without a shirt on and accidentally glimpse nipple? And that’s wrong, so very, horribly wrong. But I don’t want to be wrong by constantly looking for boobs, so I’m going to be freaked out about it, worried and always on edge, trying to be all respectful and not look at things I really want to see. And it’ll drive me perpetually crazy. How the hell can you expect a guy to live like that? This is my home; I want to be able to relax here.”

Blowing out a disgusted breath—mostly disgusted at myself because, hell, why had I admitted all that aloud—I ran a harassed hand through my hair and scowled at her for reducing me to this.

From her wheelchair, Haven’s mom burst out laughing. “I like him,” she announced, grinning at me and nodding her approval. “He’s funny.”

Well, I’m glad someone was getting a kick out of this because I certainly was not.

Next to Mrs. Gamble, Haven huffed impatiently and opened her arms as if to expose her breasts fully. “Would it help if I just flashed you my tits now?” she asked dryly.

“Yes,” I answered honestly, going for shock value. “But then I’ll just want to see the rest.”

“Okay, whoa.” Laughing nervously, Mr. Gamble stepped in front of his daughter to block her from me as if he thought she was going to start stripping that very moment. Lifting his hands, he turned to her. “I think Webster’s successfully demonstrated the fact that he’s just not comfortable living with a female, and we should respect that. So, the best thing to do now is for you to come home with us tonight and—”

“No,” Haven growled determinedly. “I want to stay here.” Stepping around her dad to face off with me again, her eyes narrowed, flashing with steely resolve as she set her jaw firmly and jammed her fists against her hips.

Nicely curved, lush hips, I might add.

Yeah, I wanted to see those without any clothes obstructing my view, too.

“Would you ever do anything to me against my will?” she asked.

“What?” I cried, pulling back in horror. “No!”

With a knowing nod, she harshly accused, “Exactly. So you’re just feeding me a bullshit excuse. I know all kinds of people who share co-ed apartments, and they get along just fine. There is no reason we couldn’t too. And I promise you will never accidentally walk in on me in any state of undress. Okay? Hell, half the time, I doubt you’ll even know I’m around. Now name me a damn price for the damn rent before I strangle it out of you.”

“Why?” I snarled right back at her. “Why do you want to stay here of all places? It’s not that glamorous of an apartment. The trash never gets picked up on time. The hot water tank has to be the smallest one ever made. I swear, the Wi-Fi’s on the fritz more often than it’s not, and during certain times of the day, the traffic outside is a nonstop pain in the ass. So, good luck ever finding a parking spot.” Spreading my arms wide, I demanded, “Now tell me, what the fuck is so appealing about all this?”

She stared at me a moment, taking in my harsh breathing and moody glare. Then she quietly answered, “I want to stay here because…” Pausing, she licked her lips nervously.

“Because why?” I pushed, pitching my voice hard in order to get her to back down.

But the reverse happened. Egged on by my tone, she straightened her spine rigidly and responded just as harshly, “Because I feel safe here with you.”