Scorched to Ash Beneath the Blazing Sun novel · Chapter 9 of 24

Chapter 9: Please

Lance posted bail at four in the afternoon.

At eleven that night he knocked on Rhonda's front door.

I was on her couch in her spare sweatshirt with a bowl of cereal, and Brice was on her porch swing because Rhonda had told him to guard the house and he had not argued.

The knock came again, soft and uneven.

"Lorena," Lance said through the wood. "Lorena, I know you're in there."

I went to the door and stopped with my hand an inch from the lock.

Through the glass I could see his shape under the porch light.

He wore a winter coat.

It was ninety-one degrees at midnight.

"Open the door."

"I'll talk through it," I said.

There was a long pause.

"They say there's nothing wrong with me," he said.

His voice was small and hoarse.

"I went to three doctors. Blood work, scans, my heart, everything. They all say I'm healthy."

"But I can't stand in the sun for two minutes. I get so hot I can't see. And at night I'm freezing."

"I've never felt like this in my life."

"I know," I said.

"What did you do to me?"

I leaned my forehead on the door.

I had expected to feel triumph.

What I felt was tired.

"I didn't do anything," I said.

"Bullshit. Everything was fine until you went to the cops!"

His fist hit the wood.

"Fix it, Lorena. Whatever you did. Undo it."

"Lance, you left me in the desert."

"You made it sound worse than it was! I would have come back for you!"

"You told a ranger I went home."

"I was scared!" he shouted, and his voice broke. "You think I wanted this? I had a plan. I was going to propose to you after the hike!"

I closed my eyes.

← Chapter 8 · All chapters · Chapter 10 →

Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend