Thief (A Bad Boy Romance)(68)
Declan gesturers at the two of us with his cigarette. “Knew I was right about you two kids.” He grins. “Dirty old habits, huh, Ms. Hammond?”
Silas whirls on him. “You don’t talk to her, understand?”
Declan grins and throws his hands up. “Whatever you say, kid.”
Silas turns back to me, his eyes darting across my face.
“Ivy-”
“What is this?” I whisper, stepping towards him. “What’s he doing here?”
Silas starts to say something, but Declan cuts him off.
“Tick-tock, kid. Time waits for no man and all that. Let’s go.”
“Silas-”
“I have to go do something, Ivy,” he says quietly, his voice tight and his eyes searching mine.
No.
Oh God, no.
And suddenly, I know exactly why Declan’s here. I know exactly what this is.
I know what’s about to happen, because it’s like a horrible, horrible deja-vu from eight years ago.
I’m right back to being in his arms, shaking my head with tears in my eyes as I look up at him, begging him not to go. I’m eighteen again, a ring on my finger and a choking grip on my heart as I plead with him to stay with me.
“No,” I whisper, my eyes going wide as the realization of what this is washes over me horribly.
I start to shake my head, my voice feeling like it’s drowning inside.
“Silas, no, please-”
“Ivy,” his voice almost breaks and he swallows thickly. “Ivy, I have to, you don’t understand.”
I’m still shaking my head, may hand moving to grab his shirt.
“No, you don’t. Just come home with me. Come back to the house with me, and we can tell them everything.”
His eyes go wide for a second, as I realize I’ve just said out loud what I wasn’t even aware I was thinking.
“I want to tell them about us. I want them to know, and to hear it from the both of us. Just please-”
“Let’s go, kid.”
Silas’s jaw tightens at the sound of Declan’s voice behind him. His eyes search mine as his hands come up to hold mine.
“I- I have to, Ivy,” he says, his voice like sandpaper. “It’s going to be okay though, after this, it’s all going to be-”
“It’s not,” I say pleadingly, feeling my heart start to crack. “You know it’s not.”
“Ivy, I have to-”
“I asked you once before not to do this, and you did,” I pull him closer to me, my hand moving up to touch his cheek.
“And I lost you.” The tears start to trickle down my face as I bite my lip, gripping at him.
“I don’t know if I’ll get you back this time.”
“You will,” he says fiercely. “I swear to you-”
“Now, kid.”
Silas looks at me, his eyes burning right into mine.
“I’m coming back, because I love you, Ivy.”
I shake my head, crying now.
“Please don’t say that.”
“It’s true.”
I press my face into his chest, my breath hitching.
“If it’s true, then just stay.”
I look up into his face, and for half a second, I think he might. For one flash of a moment, I think he’s going to stay, and come back to my parents’ house with me and tell them everything, and love me like I know he can.
But then the moment passes.
“I have to go.”
He pulls away, and my heart shatters.
“I’ll come back, Ivy-”
But I don’t hear him. Instead, I’m pulling the necklace out of my dress and slipping it over my head.
His face breaks.
“No-”
“I’m done, Silas,” I say quickly, shoving it into his hands.
“I’ve carried it too long, and I’m done.”
I push past him, push past Declan and his goons, and go running down the docks, the salt air cooling the tears streaming down my cheeks.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ivy
I’m blinded by tears as I run down the dock, so much so that I don’t even see my sister until I literally run right into her.
“Whoa! Hey!”
I collapse into Sierra, shaking my head from side to side as I bury it into her shoulder. She throws her arms around me, pulling me close and stroking my back.
“Hey now, hey…” She soothes into my ear, and the dynamic switch of my little sister comforting me almost makes me smile.
“Thought I might find you here.”
I sniff as I look up at her. “What are you doing here?” I mumble, pulling away and wiping my eyes dry with the back of my hand.
“You weren’t answering your phone-” Her face tenses as she drags her teeth across her bottom lip.
Something’s up.
“What-”