Secrets of Us A Forbidden Love Romance (Alina)

Chapter 210

Letting Go of the Noise

The shower doesn't help.

I stay under the hot spray until my fingers wrinkle, until the smell of chili and french fries is long gone. My skin is pink from the hot water, but my nerves are still on fire. My heart hasn't stopped hammering in my chest, regardless of how much I try to calm my

breathing.

The shame won't rinse off. The cruel words still echo loud in my ears.

Whore. Slut. Desperate.

I tug on a clean set of pajamas and twist my wet hair into a towel. I'm so tired, but I know

I won't be able to sleep like this. Not with my chest feeling like it's full of shattered glass. Not with my stomach still turning.

Might as well get my stupid ice cream.

I make my way down the hallway quietly, heading to the kitchen. The house is mostly dark, but Zaid has turned on the warm under cabinet lights, casting a soft golden glow across the counters.

Zaid's sitting at the island, hunched over his sandwich. He hasn't taken a bite, he's sort of just staring at it.

His eyes lift when I walk in, and I don't miss the way they flick down my body in a slow, heated, lingering gaze. It's just a second too long.

I feel it like a spark against my skin. But then he blinks, clears his throat, and pushes back his stool, standing up. I'm left with my stomach tightening and my breath shallow.

He walks over to the fridge, opening the freezer and reaches into it. "Are you going to tell me what happened?"

He pulls out the dented pint of ice cream and grabs a spoon without needing to ask me.

I sit on a stool with a sigh, resting my elbows on the counter. "Sadie happened." He pauses. His jaw ticks.

1/4

Letting Go of the Noise

"Of course she did," he mutters, opening the cabinet for a bowl. "She's a bitch."

his voice makes me bristle, sending my skin into

his head back against the cabinet like the weight of everything suddenly hits him. "I'm sorry, you know? For everything. For taking

at him. He's apologized for it before, but never so

it is, but it's not what I want. Not what

don't care about

Just gives me the bowl and sits down beside me, eating his

a minute. His strong profile, the tired way his shoulders slope.

ear that I know by heart. The one

him. More than ice cream. More than late night comfort. More than

trying

sleep?" I ask, my voice quieter

to mine, and they're darker

all since, umm," he

doesn't finish

He doesn't have to.

know exactly

And it hurts.

I finish the

2/4

of

walk to the sink, rinsing my bowl. The entire time I can feel

listen to the logic my

to him, but can't find the courage

I whisper, before slipping

the stairs, the house hushed

the door clicking shut

there, turned toward my side of

covers and slide in beside him, careful not to jostle

pulling it back around my waist, needing

of him. Just the touch

arm drapes around me,

he mumbles, voice groggy and

stroking his