25

I finish reading her email, slam the lid of my laptop shut and storm from the room. Running down the stairs, I pass my dad.

"Hey, what's wrong?" he calls after me.

"The usual," I reply, not stopping.

That's the good thing about living with my dad, he'll accept whatever answer I throw at him without thinking it's inadequate enough to deserve extra questioning. I managed one night under the same roof as Emmett after the fight, before I turned up on my dad's doorstep with a backpack of clothes and a request to move in. My mom didn't raise a single argument when I said I was going, and that kind of hurt.

I'm guessing, across town, the general lack of information she now has about my life is driving her crazy.

Out on the street I turn left. Another advantage of living here is I'm only two blocks from Kate's house. I run all the way there, desperately trying to get rid of the nervous tension Izzy's email has elicited in my muscles.

I'm breathless when Kate answers the door to my knock. She frowns as she takes in the sight of me.

"Hey," I greet her.

"Hey."

I step forward and she stands to the side to let me past.

"Are you home alone?"

"Yeah, why?"

I move closer to her, cupping the back of her head with one hand and resting my other on her waist. I steer us back another step until she has the wall against her back. I know I'm confusing her from the look in her eyes as I plead with my own.

"Can we …?" I run my hand up her body from her waist and dip my head down until my lips meet hers, as sweet and willing as always. She makes a sound that spells out her desire as she reaches for me too. "I need to get out of my own head for a while," I confess in a murmur as my mouth travels across her jaw and up her neck.

"I can help with that," she promises, gasping quietly.

o0o

"I know something's up," Kate tells me, turning her head on the pillow to look directly at me. "You've never just showed up here like this before."

I glance at her and turn away again with a sigh. She says nothing more, but I know she's watching me closely as I lean out toward the floor, reach for my discarded jeans and take my phone from the pocket. I pull up my emails and open the relevant one, trying not to look at the words as I pass it to her.

She reads it in silence and when she finishes she places the phone down between us. I look at her, her cheeks flushed and chest still coated with a sheen of sweat, and I realize how fucked up this all is.

I mutter an apology and snatch up my phone as I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed.

Pulling on my t-shirt, I feel her touch me.

"I'm sad for you both," she says softly. I pause for a moment, then carry on getting dressed.

"Edward, can I ask you something?" I'm on my feet fastening my jeans. I turn to face her. "How do you feel about Izzy? After reading that, I mean."

I swallow.

"I'm sorry her mom's ill," I say. "Aside from that, everything she wrote was too little too late. I can't go there again, Kate." I sit down and take her hand in mine.

"How are you feeling?" I ask. She looks unsure and that worries me. She's always so composed.

"I know what we have. It's easy-going and casual and I'm fine with that, but I won't be used as a distraction. That's not fair."

"I'm sorry," I say. "I promise."

I lean forward and place a gentle kiss on her lips. "Just do me one favor, okay? If my brother ever comes within a mile of you, you tell him to go to hell."

~S~