The Hollows In Our Freedom | 'Hollows' Book Ⅲ

Chapter Twenty-Three

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T h e H o l l o w s I n 
O U R F R E E D O M
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"Me?" He stared at me. Well, shit. "I mean, yeah, because I'm pretty clumsy—" I'm not, "—and those pavements are pretty slippery—" they're not, "—so I get what you mean—" I don't.

"Lex." Oh man, I love when he calls me that.

I managed to refocus.

"I was worried about you because I didn't know where you had gone, why, or when you'd be back. I guessed you had gone with Kim but that didn't really tell me much, only that if anything happened to her, it would probably happen to you, too." How is he this good at admitting his feelings when I can't even admit that I'm still scared of the dark?

I opened and closed my mouth, as if looking like a fish would solve all my problems.

I dropped my bag and took a step forward. I sighed. "I'm sorry. My intention wasn't to worry you."

He smiled, exhaling. "I know, I just panicked. I know you can protect yourself—and probably 50 others, I just worry too much sometimes." I grinned at him whilst shaking my head, closing the gap some more.

"No, it's fine. Honestly, I've never really had anyone worry about me; it's refreshing." It was times like these when I wondered why I hadn't admitted all this secret stuff about me to other people, then I realise that it's only as an affect of being around Jace. Jace is the only one I can confess to.

"Oh?" Jace raised his eyebrow, "so you purposely worried me to trigger that response for your own psychological benefit?"

I faltered. Did he just ask if I was attention-seeking?

Seeing my uncertainty, Jace's smile broadened before he pulled me in for an embrace.

Jace. Just. Hugged. Me.

Oh crap, what do I do?

I decided that the smart thing would be to hug him back.

I always thought that I'd have to initiate everything between us, since he was so obsessed with Sky; I thought he would never notice me.

Had he finally noticed me?

We pulled away after a few moments, and I probably looked entranced, but I didn't really care.

"That was a nice hug." I acknowledged, making Jace stifle a laugh.

He nodded, though, before saying. "It was; you're a good hugger."

I beamed. "Aw, no you were a pretty good hugger—but I'll take the compliment." I swiped my shopping bag from the floor before throwing myself down on the bed, sitting up to rifle through them.

Jace laughed at me this time, before sitting next to me and pulling a menu out of absolutely nowhere.

"Would you like dinner?" He asked. I turned to frown at him; he hadn't eaten yet. Maybe he was waiting for you.