Impacted (Conflicted Encounters #2) Read Online Free PDF Page B

you could see, tinted with purple and pink. I turned back around when I heard movement to find Kallie standing by the couch.  
    "Wow," Kallie said with wide eyes, looking over at the same sunset I was.
    "You live here. You've probably seen it a thousand times," I laughed.  
    "I haven't," she admitted in a small voice. "I never paid attention."
    I shook my head at her. "Well, you've been busy." I didn't hide the hardness in my voice.  
    "I hate it here," she said in a dead voice that scared me a little. "I hate it all. It kills me. It eats me alive and sucks the life out of me. I have nothing left. I lost you. I lost my mind."
    If it weren’t for the trembling I could see in her body, I would have seen no emotion. Her voice was calm and her face was neutral. In a swift movement, she bent down and flipped the coffee table over. Glass shattered everywhere. She stepped over the broken shards and swiped the photos off the wall. They fell to the floor, breaking before she moved over to the built-in entertainment stand.  
    When she started to rip cords out of the wall, I broke out of my frozen state and rushed to her. Grabbing her arms from behind, I lifted her off the ground. Kallie kicked and squirmed in my arms as I backed us into the kitchen.  
    "Kallie, calm down," I said in her ear. She snapped and I wasn't sure how to get her back.  
    I wasn't sure if there was anything that could be said to make it better. She was right, in a way. She lived a different life, one that I wasn't convinced she wanted or fit into. I held my arms around her body, keeping her feet off the ground until she grew tired and went limp. She was still shaking as she started to cry.
    I sank down to my knees, taking her with me and situating her in my lap. Part of me knew I shouldn't be comforting her when she was so upset and vulnerable, but I couldn't let her breakdown alone. I promised we could be friends, and this is what a friend would do. Although, I am sure Scarlett would be better in this situation.  
    Kallie's body stopped convulsing, and a little while later, she stopped crying and sniffled a few times. Her wet blue eyes looked up at me and I swear my heart ripped in half. I hated seeing her hurt. She gave me a sad smile before pushing off of me and scooting a few feet away on the floor.  
    "I'm sorry," she mumbled while wiping the tears off her face.  
    "It's okay." It's not.  
    "I never meant for all this to happen," she gestured around her. "I never meant to ignore you. I never meant to make you think that I didn't love you."
    I swallowed the lump in my throat. I shook my head at her and closed my eyes. I wanted to believe her more than anything. She probably even believed herself, but I couldn't risk that she wouldn't hurt me like that again. After being deemed not good enough for my own mother, I never allowed myself to rely on someone else's love and approval again. Until Kallie.
    We sat in silence on the tile floor. She didn't apologize again, and I didn't have to push her away again. I wondered how we would get through the upcoming weeks and play nice for the wedding. It was becoming obvious that both us wanted what we had, but going back to that wasn't as easy as it sounded.  
    A knock came at the door, and Kallie called for them to come in. The door opened and Kallie's Dad’s pet stood in the doorway, taking in the sight of the trashed living room.  
    "What happened here? Are you okay?" he asked as he rushed over to Kallie's side.  
    "It's fine," she said, brushing him off and glaring until he backed away. She used the counter to pull herself up. "I lost my temper."
    "What did you do to her?" he growled at me. I raised my eyebrows, almost impressed. Yesterday, this guy looked like he couldn't get aggressive with a kitten. He seemed genuinely pissed at me now.  
    "I didn't do shit," I said in a warning voice as I stood up.
    "Ivan," Kallie said to get his attention. When he looked at her, she limped into the living room,