45: Attraction

He set the plate down in the sink and washed it before returning it to the plate rack. He turned around and found Darcy standing at the kitchen door.

“What exactly is your endgame here?” She asked, sounding protective.

“I have no endgame,” he replied, a little hurt that his reputation had made him someone who wasn’t trustworthy.

“Then why are you here doing all this? You had your chance with her, and you blew it. You do not know the pain you caused her or the number of times she cried herself to sleep because of you. What she had to do! And give up—” She held herself back and pressed her lips together. “Because of the scar you left, she can’t even love or let herself feel vulnerable. You don’t get to come back and act as if you did none of that.”

He felt miserable at her words, and he was mad at himself for everything he had put her through. He only wanted to make amends. “You’re right, I am an asshole. I hurt the one person I was meant to protect, and I want to make up for that. I kno