Push Me Away : Book 2 of the Teeth Series

26

"Roy?"

"Oh hey, Fallon. I didn't know you were awake. What's up?" The man combed his fingers through his hair, meeting her gaze with a curious one of his own. Fallon didn't usually frequent his doorway so she wasn't surprised by his seeming slightly confused.

"I—uh, I was talking to Calum earlier and well..."

She fumbled over her words as she tried to formulate the best way to phrase her question, absently picking at the dry skin near her thumbnail.

"IwasjustwonderingifyouwouldbemadifImovedinpermenantly." Her words came out rushed and practically indistinguishable.

"I'm sorry. What was that?" His head tilted to the side as he waited for her to repeat herself.

Fallon huffed out a breath and tried again. "I was just wondering, well, I wanted to know if you would be upset if I were to move in...permanently."

Roy blinked back at her and for a moment she felt her heart plummet to the very depths of her stomach. Fearing the worst she steeled herself as he readied himself to speak. "Is that it?"

Dumbfounded, she wasn't sure how to respond. Flustered, she opened and closed her mouth a few times before finally managing to croak out, "What do you mean 'is that it?'"

He chuckled in a way that made Fallon feel idiotic. Like whatever he was hinting at should be obvious.

"It's nothing, Fal. It's just when you moved in I kind of suspected that it might lead to something with more than a few weeks of expected longevity."

"You did?" The genuine surprise in her voice caused Roy's eyebrows to lift.

"Well yeah." He cleared his throat. "You and Cal have been through some shit, more than most couples but the universe always seems to lead you back to one another. There's only so long that you can deny yourselves what the stars have already aligned for. Really, I think you and Calum might be the only ones blind to the obvious: you're meant to be together."

Fallon paused and then released a sigh. "I'm scared to let myself believe that."

Her admission hung in the air between them, thoughts she had done her best to contain overwhelming her system.

"Fear is just a part of existence. Just because you experience it doesn't mean you should allow it to control you. Lean into it. Maybe it will be the best decision of your life."

Fallon was at a loss for words. Roy had a knack for being a bit philosophical and it often took her a bit to truly process whatever he was telling her so she backed out the door with a small wave and gentle smile as she retreated down the hall to the room she had claimed for her own.

*

Overeager was the last thing Calum wanted to appear but he was growing impatient which was completely out of character for him but when the future of his and Fallon's living arrangements, as well as other things, hung in the balance. He couldn't really be blamed for being a little on edge.

He wanted to pry, he wanted to ask, he wanted to demand to know what was going on in that thick head of hers and his restraint was dwindling, already whittled thin to the width of a single hair. If Fallon didn't appear from the depths of the bedroom that was hers, though she hadn't been sleeping there, soon he was liable to spring an attack on Roy. His desperation for information had become that overwhelming.

Just as he was contemplating barging into Roy's room, in what he knew would be a terrible invasion on his part, Fallon—as if by magic—appeared.

Calum allowed his deep brown eyes to assess her, looking in vain for any small sign that might indicate the choice she had made and if he was about to begin living through another type of rejection.