Ellie's boyfriend kissed her goodnight and disappeared without a trace, never to be seen again... until now.
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A week before their high school graduation, Austin and Ellie parted ways with a goodnight kiss, thinking they'd be seeing each...
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⚠️ This is my warning that there is sex in this chapter. If you don't want to read it, skip ahead to the next one. (Mamma, det betyder att DU ska hoppa till nästa kapitel.)
We spent the rest of the day packing and organizing the car for the move. We had to leave more things behind than we'd expected since we had Ellie with us, but that couldn't be helped. So, after reorganizing everything that was already packed, all non-essential things got placed in boxes, which we stacked along the wall of the loft.
The plan was to leave in the early morning, way before the sunrise. We needed to take Ellie back to Boston even though that was a dangerous place for all of us, but she had to get her things from the hotel. And then we'd leave her at the airport so she could fly back home to Georgia, while me and my brother set off for Kansas, to start all over.
Ellie had been quiet for most of the afternoon while we got our things ready, but she helped where she could. My brother dismantled his computer system, and it was one of the first things that got put into the car. But during and after dinner, she barely said a word.
It wasn't until I'd gotten the last box put away in the loft that she approached me. My brother had just left to take Bear for his evening walk as it had gotten late and it was dark outside and he wanted to make sure everything was alright.
"Austin..."
She nibbled on her bottom lip as she hesitated to continue.
"Yeah?"
"Stay with me," she whispered.
"Ellie..." I sighed. There was nothing I wanted more in the world than to stay with her and be given the chance to love her all over again. But there was no way in hell I was going to risk her life. And getting involved with me again might do just that.
Her blue eyes filled with unshed tears and I felt like an absolute asshole. I didn't want to hurt her, but that was just what I was doing. I had no clue what the right answer was, but I needed her to know that it wasn't because of her.
"You're safer without me, Ellie."
She turned her head away from me, like I rejected her, and I guess that was exactly what I'd done.
"It's not because I don't want to." Because god knows I did.
"Then stay." She turned back to me and blinked those expressive blue eyes at me. "Tonight... please, Austin. Stay with me, even if it's only for tonight..."
Ellie reached her hand out and touched my chest. It wasn't a seductive move, but my body was so starved for affection, especially hers, that I sucked in a breath in response to the charge that went through me.
