Page 26 of Avenging Azalea

I tapped my wine glass, lost in thought. No matter how I practiced saying the words, it always felt like someone was pouring acid down my throat. Nothing was going to make this better, and as soon as the movie was over, I needed to tell Fawn before it was posted all over the place. She should hear it from me.

I looked at the large clock on the wall. What was taking Fawn so long? She had been up there for half an hour. Setting down the glass, I walked out of my home theater and up to Fawn’s room, but the door was closed.

“Fawn,” I called out as I knocked softly.

There was no answer. She wouldn’t just fall asleep. On alert now, I pulled my gun. I opened her door, looking for any sign of a struggle, but nothing was out of place, and her balcony looked secure.

“Fawn?”

I walked deeper into her room and spotted the light under the bathroom door. Putting the gun away, I got closer, only to hear muffled crying. What the hell was going on?

“Fawn?” I called out.

“Yeah?”

Her voice was strained, and I knew that sound all too well. I’d never forgotten the pain-filled sobs from the night I found her at the bus stop.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m not feeling great. Too much rich food, I think.”

She was lying to me.

My first instinct was to kick the door down and kill whoever had made her cry, but I had a horrible suspicion that I would need to look in the mirror for the culprit.

“May I come in?”

“No, don’t worry, I’ll be fine.” She made a small gasping noise, and my hands gripped the doorframe.

“What about the movie?”

“We can watch it another time.”

Fawn never missed anything related to her birthday or Christmas, even Thanksgiving. The first year she lived here, I’d made everything a huge deal, especially her birthday. Since then, it had become her favorite day. I loved making her smile and letting her know she was special. When my phone buzzed, I knew it was the worst-case scenario. Pulling it out of my pocket, I swore under my breath as I stared at the engagement announcement.

“Fawn….”

“I’ll be fine, really. I just need to shower and sleep.” She was close, and I looked down to see her shadow under the door. “It’s been a long week. I’m sorry, I don’t think I’m up to talking tonight.”

Knowing that marriage to another woman was inevitable didn’t make it any easier. I’d never meant to hurt Fawn. It was wrong to love her when my duty was to protect her, and yet my heart didn’t care.

“If that’s what you really want, then I’ll go.”

She sniffled, and just when I thought I couldn’t hate myself more, the sharp knife-like pain lancing my heart told me otherwise.

“Um…yeah, that might be for the best. Thanks for dinner. It was wonderful.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered and pried myself away.

Walking away from Fawn was no different than walking the plank. I knew that the moment I stepped outside her door, it was over. Not that there had been anything going on between us, but the possibility was dead. The look in her eyes, which told me she felt the same way I did, would disappear. I was desperate to hang on to that look…to hang on to her.

But that wouldn’t happen. Fawn was too good at hiding her emotions. She would smile and say she was happy for me because that was who she was. I’d never known anyone devoid of malice until she came into my life. She was kind, thoughtful, and selfless.

Pulling the jewelry box from my jacket pocket, I placed it and the card down on her nightstand and ran my hand across the lid.

“You deserve to fly, Little Bird.”

Just before I shut the door, she started crying again. I had to get out of here, now. My dogs sat in the hallway staring at me with the same accusatory glare like they knew I’d just hurt their favorite person.