Page 54 of Let's Be Forever

“You’re still so stubborn.” He leans on the counter next to me, folding his thick arms against his chest.

“I’m not stubborn,” I argue, staring at him deadpan. “I just don’t need anything from you.”

He chuckles under his breath. “The beauty of free will is that I can do whatever I want. I’ll just buy it and you can decide what to do with it.”

I scoff, staring at him incredulously. “No. You’re not going to do that. I—” Another yawn leaves me, and my eyes grow heavy.

“Go take a nap,” he softly urges. “I’ve got her. We’ll be okay.”

“You’ve never been alone with Rosie. I can’t leave. What if?—”

“Anna.” He gently clutches both my shoulders.

“What are you doing?” I tense under his hold, fighting the shudder that threatens to roll down my body.

“I’m going to watch Rosie, and you’re going to take a nap. This day was eventually going to come.” He gently shoves me out of the kitchen and through the living room. “Sleep for as long as you want. Everything will be okay.”

Despite his assurance, I feel a little nervous. What if he panics or does something wrong? What if she chokes or throws a tantrum?

He gives my shoulders a squeeze. “It’s all going to be okay. I promise I’m not going to let anything happen to our daughter, okay? Trust me, please.”

“Sy…” I falter, my eyes growing heavier by the second. Against my better judgment, I sigh and listen to him. “Just thirty minutes. If I don’t wake up, you better wake me up.”

He mock salutes me. “Will do. Now go to sleep.”

And I do just that. The moment my head touches the pillow, the world as I know it becomes nonexistent.

I feel disoriented but reenergized when I peel my eyes open. I stretch and roll in bed, lifting the covers over my head to block the sunlight, but I draw them back quickly when I realize there is none.

I sit up, throw the sheets off me, and reach for my glasses on my nightstand. I hate sleeping with contacts, even if I’m napping for a few minutes. Only, it wasn’t a few minutes. It had to have beenhoursbecause the sun was still out when I closed my eyes, and now my room is blanketed in darkness. The only source of light comes from the gap underneath my door.

I rush into the hall but falter when I spot Sylas and Rosie in the living room. They’re playing with her toys, and the TV is turned on, a music video playing. I instantly recognize the rock band, The Sirens. Jenny is obsessed with them and listened to them a lot when I lived with her.

Sylas is bobbing his head, telling Rosie to follow his lead. She does so animatedly, but they both stop and turn to look at me, wide smiles mirroring each other.

“Hey.” He pauses the video, and the screen freezes on the lead singer, Katya Flores. “How’d you sleep?”

I approach them, circling the couch and dropping down on it. Rosie picks up her dog and pretends to feed it. “I told you to wake me up in thirty minutes. I slept for three hours. You should have?—”

“You needed it.” He sets her toys down, and the playful expression on his face softens into something serious. “I’m not just here for Rosie, but for you too. I want to help you, and?—”

“No, you?—”

“Yes,” he cuts in as he moves to sit next to me. “I get it. I get why you don’t want my help. Why you want nothing to do with me. Why you hate me. I really do. I wasn’t there when you needed me, and I will forever hate myself for it. I can’t change the past, no matter how badly I want to, how desperate I am to stop myself from making the biggest mistake of my life.”

“Sylas, please.” I scoot away from him, but no amount of space feels like enough. “Stop. I can’t…”

“You can’t what?” He lifts a brow, and his green eyes dim with regret. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay, forever. Hate me as I help you. Hate me as I’m here for you. Hate me for leaving you.Hate me, Anna. Hate me, but I’m not going anywhere. I’m here to stay, and I’m here to help. I’m here,meu bem.”

“I…” I glance at Rosie and see that she’s blissfully unaware of what’s going on, too busy playing with her toys.

“Anna, look at me,” he pleads, and I feel him inch closer. I should move, but I don’t. Not when his leg is pressed against mine and his large palm cups my cheek. “I’d rather have you despise me than feel nothing at all for me.”

“I…” I meet his eyes and my breath catches. We’re too close. I shouldn’t have allowed this, but my heart screamshome, and hammers at his proximity and the familiarity of his warmth. “I don’t hate you, Sylas,” I find myself saying instead of begging him to let go. “I wanted to…”

He rests his forehead against mine. “I’ve missed you.”

“Please don’t say that to me. Please don’t say anything. We can’t do this. We’re done,” I say, but the words are feeble, and Ido nothing but stay as I am. Every part of me longs for every part of him. “You gave up on us.”