Keep It, We Don't Need It Anymore novel · Chapter 22 of 24

Chapter 22: Stay

Carissa took a single sheet of paper from her purse and laid it on the walnut.

It was the intake form from her first visit to St. Anne's, fourteen months ago.

In the box marked Emergency Contact, in her own blue ink, she had written: Wyatt Haldorsen, husband.

"I wrote it on all six," she said. "He never corrected me."

"You knew he was married."

"I knew he was married to you." She did not flinch. "He told me you were the one who couldn't cope. He told me I was the real emergency."

"And you believed him."

"I wanted to," Carissa said. "That's the part I can't say out loud to anyone else."

The chair cleared his throat and asked for the sheet to be entered into the record.

I did not say anything to her. There was nothing I wanted to say that would fit in the room.

I walked out with Jonas into the cold afternoon, and he took my hand on the steps in front of everybody.

Poppy was at Marit's for the night. Marit had called it a family decision and shut the door in my face.

At seven I stood in Jonas's kitchen, where the counter was clean and the glass was back in its rack.

"Nothing's left," I said. "The hearing's over. The vote's over. There are no terms."

"There's one," Jonas said.

He was standing by the window with his shirt half unbuttoned.

"What?"

"Stay."

I looked at him.

"Not for tonight. For the mornings after it, too." His voice was rough. "Six years ago I stood in a break room and said congratulations. I should have said stay."

My throat closed.

"Say it again."

"Stay with me, Nina."

I crossed the kitchen and took his face in my hands.

← Chapter 21 · All chapters · Chapter 23 →

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