Page 108 of Freed
Crying.
It drifts up through the floorboards in broken, muffled bursts, the kind of sound that makes the hair on the back of my neck rise. What in the world is happening down there?
I don’t have to wonder long. Footsteps sound in the hall. Heavy. Measured. Unhurried. I know it’s Lorenzo. The bedroom door opens, and he steps inside, bringing the cold force of himself with him. It feels like the whole room shifts to accommodate him, like the air thins and the walls draw in.
I look at him and keep my face blank. “Back to accuse me some more?”
His mouth twitches, but it isn’t a smile. “I was wrong to imply you tried to hurt yourself.”
I say nothing. Mostly because I’m too busy staring at him. Something has changed. What did he find out down there? He looks calmer now, but in the worst possible way. The angerhasn’t left him. It’s just gone still or settled into something more dangerous.
“You know something,” I say. “What happened?”
“Let’s just say,” he replies, taking a step closer, “I have another suspect in mind.”
“Tell me.”
He keeps coming until there’s barely any space left between the bed and his body. “No.”
“You can’t?—”
“I most certainly can,cara.”
A laugh slips out of me, sharp and disbelieving. I shake my head against the pillow.
His gaze narrows. “Is something funny?”
“Yes,” I say. “Back tocara, I see. Save us both the turmoil and just call me Birdie like everyone else.”
The silence that follows is almost comical. Because that is the one thing he has never once called me.
His expression doesn’t change. “No.”
I blink at him. “Excuse me?”
“No.”
“I’m not asking.” I bare my teeth at him. “Birdie is my name, and I’d like you to call me that.”
“No.”
I stare at him for a beat. Then I nod slowly. “Fine.”
His brow lifts, like he knows something unpleasant is coming and is curious anyway.
“Then I’m going to call you Dave.”
That actually makes him pause. “Why Dave?”
I smile sweetly. “That was the name of the shitty guy I lost my virginity to. I think it’s fitting.”
The room goes very still.
“You will not call me the name of the man who took your virginity.”
“Oh,” I say lightly, “Dave doesn’t like that.”
His jaw flexes.
