006

Chapter 6 

Sabrina

Shock locked every muscle in my body. My eyes went wide.

The way those words left his mouth—so low, so possessive—felt almost unreal.

“Ronan—” I tried to tug free, but he only tightened his hold on my wrist and pulled me closer.

The space between us disappeared. For one dizzy second I thought our lips would meet again.

“What are you doing? Let me go!”

“How can I?” His voice was rough. “When I remember everything that happened?”

Heat flooded my cheeks. He remembered. Every detail of last night.

Did he also remember how I’d stopped fighting? How I’d opened my mouth for him? How our tongues had tangled until I couldn’t think?

“Ronan, let…” The rest of the sentence died in my throat.

I didn’t actually want him to let go. This might have been the moment I’d waited years for.

I glanced down at the arm around my waist and almost smiled. The same Ronan who had treated me like a child hours earlier was now holding me as if he was terrified I might vanish.

His eyes still carried the same intensity from last night.

“I was drunk,” he said quietly, gaze locked on mine. “I wasn’t thinking straight. I’m sorry for what I did.”

“Are you sorry about the kiss… or just that you were drunk when it happened?” I asked, clinging to the last scrap of hope.

“Sabrina… last night was a mistake.” He looked away.

The words landed like a blade.

He’d just called the first real kiss of my life—a night I already knew I’d never forget—a *mistake*.

Was I that undesirable to him?

I knew he’d been drinking, but he had still been present enough to—

“Sabrina, please don’t cry again. I can’t stand—”

My voice cracked. “I want you to let me go right now. I don’t want anything else from you. Just… leave.”

“Please forgive me.” He held on tighter.

The pressure of his fingers on my waist only deepened the ache. He was holding me again just to humiliate me further.

I struggled harder.

“Guys!”

Logan’s voice cut through the air.

Ronan released me instantly and turned away.

I sucked in a shaky breath and blinked back the tears that were already burning.

Logan strode in, snatched his phone from the table, then froze. His eyes flicked between us.

“What’s going on with you two?”

Then he noticed the shattered plate on the floor.

“Who broke the plate?” he demanded.

My throat closed. I couldn’t stay another second.

I bolted from the dining room, ran upstairs, and slammed my door shut. I leaned against it, dragging in sharp breaths, fighting the tears with everything I had.

“Don’t cry… don’t let him hurt you again,” I whispered.

I squeezed my eyes shut, but the tears still slipped free.

*A mistake.*

Those two words refused to leave my head. They had carved themselves into me.

“I’m so tired of this,” I choked out, collapsing onto the bed and burying my face in the sheets.

I didn’t know how long I cried. By the time I noticed anything again, Logan had already come back from practice and left the house once more.

I stayed exactly where I was, unwilling to move or face anyone. I didn’t even open my phone. My mood was pure acid.

A soft knock sounded at the door.

“Sabrina… it’s me.”

Ronan’s voice. Another knock.

My heart clenched. What could he possibly want now?

“You haven’t eaten since this morning. I brought something. Can I come in?”

*No.* That was what I wanted to scream. Instead I stayed frozen, silent.

“I’m coming in.”

The door opened and closed. Footsteps approached.

“I brought your favorite,” he said, voice quieter than usual. Almost uncertain.

I wondered why he sounded like that. He had never lacked confidence before—especially not when he was breaking my heart.

“Just leave it and go,” I muttered, staring at the wall.

“I don’t want to leave…”

“Ronan, what do you want from me?” I sat up and snapped. “Please leave. Let’s forget everything and keep our distance.”

He ignored the words completely and set a tray across my thighs. Then he sat beside me and opened the container, revealing a neat pile of unpeeled tangerines.

My favorite fruit. I could eat them all day. There was only one problem.

“You know I can’t peel those,” I said sharply. “Or was hurting me emotionally not enough? Do you want to finish the job by giving me blisters?”

Something I had never seen before flickered across his face.

Was that… pain?

“That’s why I’m here,” he said softly, picking up a tangerine. “I’m going to peel them for you. I know your skin reacts to the peel. I would never hurt you that way.”

“But you can hurt me every other way!” The words tumbled out, raw and uncontrolled.

“Sabrina.” He shifted closer.

I couldn’t take another scrap of hope. Not again.

“Please don’t do this—”

“I’m your brother’s best friend. You’re my best friend’s sister,” he cut in quietly.

“I

never should have kissed you… but I don’t know why…” He trailed off, eyes locked on mine.

“I don’t know why I want to do it again.”