Tainted Innocence

Chapter XX

Wow, I never thought this story would get that long. As of today we are 20 chapters in and nowhere near the end.

I just hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story.

Have fun reading Chapter XX.

Chapter XX

She didn't see him the next day or the day after that. Ecco had told her in an even more reserved voice as Lynn was familiar with that he had locked himself in his study, only occasionally leaving it for a short toilet break that went unnoticed by her.

It hurt that he didn't want to talk to her, although it was justified. She'd messed things up, and now he was the one suffering. Then again, it was probably for the best that they didn't run into each other. In all honesty, Lynn wouldn't have known what to tell him. She knew she needed to make up her mind, needed to get her shit together if she wanted to stay here.

For one thing was clear: She couldn't live in his bunker when she continued to hurt him as a result of her sheer existence.

God, he'd looked so tormented that night. She would never forget his green eyes, so full of accusations.

For the remainder of the weekend, Lynn spent her time ascertaining what exactly it was she felt for Jeremiah, and which role Matt still played in her life. The outcome wasn't nearly half as satisfying as she had hoped for.

One evening, three days after her drunken mistake, she heard music coming from the living room. The noise was faint, for Jeremiah didn't seem to listen to it at a moderate volume. Maybe because he thought that she would feel annoyed by his listening to music.

Upon entering the room, she recognised the tune as Love Hurts by the Everly brothers. Her heart missed a painful beat and Lynn flinched.

Of course he wouldn't play that song at full volume.

She only saw his face in profile, but even so she could see that he wasn't well.

Lynn bit her lower lip.

By now he'd become aware of her presence and began to turn his head towards her.

"We need to talk."

She had feared these words for a long time, and now that they had been spoken she could feel the dread pool in her stomach. An acidic feeling, as if her intestines had become inflamed in a matter of seconds.

"You can't keep doing this, Lynn.", Jeremiah rasped, his voice a bit shaky as he gestured for her to sit on the armchair opposite the sofa where he'd seated himself on.

Lynn lowered her head as she did what he'd asked her to do.

It ached that he was socially distancing himself from her by making her sit far away.

"You can't just kiss and push me away every time you seem to need some kind of physical intimacy. I know you were drunk yesterday, but still you were apparently sober enough to dismiss me after literally holding my manhood in your hand. I'm not a sex toy, Lynn. I'm a human being, I have emotions, and I'm not going to lie: You succeeded at making me fall for you again. So, please, don't toy with me if you don't feel the way I feel for you. For I won't endure having my heart broken a second time."

His voice had faltered halfway through his statement. Now he was looking at his hands, visibly gulping while his body was trembling ever so slightly.

Lynn took a shaky breath. The time had come for a word of truth. There was no sense in lying anymore, no sense in deluding herself anymore.