Unraveled Read Online Free PDF Page B

frustration. His hands are warm on my shoulders and somewhere within me,
my soul is calmer knowing he cares even though I don't deserve it.
    “I need to
understand why you are doing what you do, Blayre. You say it's a coping
mechanism, so does that mean that when you're upset, you feel the need to harm
yourself?”
    My body
tenses beneath his hold and I refuse to answer him.
    “Your
silence has me making stuff up in my mind that terrifies me. Let me in,
Blayre,” he pleads in a strained voice.
    Finally, I let
my eyes lift up to his and I find that he is watching me intently with a hint
of pain in his eyes. The fact that I'd put it there makes my chest ache. He
cares about me that much? I lick my lips and decide I need to put an end
to this. I should have done this sooner. “It was a mistake,” I finally say.
    “What was?”
    “Us. I was
missing Cole and you were just a stand in,” I lie.
    Noah's
entire body tenses up for a brief second and then something shifts in his gaze
before he slowly shakes his head. “I know what you're doing. You're trying to
push me away in hopes that this conversation never continues. What just came
out of your mouth was a load of bullshit.” He leans closer as his eyes sear
mine. “I watched the way you reacted to me the other night. There is absolutely
no doubt in my mind that you were exactly where you wanted to be. Cole was the
last thing on your mind.”
    We stand
there for a long moment, simply staring at each other.
    “Let me go,”
I warn.
    Noah
releases my shoulders and backs up, but not by much. He's not allowing me to
end this conversation anytime soon. Feeling beyond wary, I move past him and
walk over to my bed to sit down before I promptly drop my head into my hands.
None of this was supposed to be happening! If I hadn't been so stupid lately,
no one would have ever found out.
    “I'm going
to ask again, Blayre. Do you cut yourself when you're upset? How does it make
anything better?” I hear Noah ask quietly. His tone is calm but I can't miss
the hint of determination that lingers in his voice.
    Tears sting
behind my eyelids and I ignore him for a long moment. I feel like he's stripped
me down to my soul and I'm left wide open and vulnerable. I hate this
feeling and I hate that it's him who is seeing me this way. Reluctantly, I drop
my hands and look up at him. He's still standing there, his hands in his
pockets as he watches me carefully. I have a feeling he'd be sitting by me if
he wasn't worried I'd bolt.
    “Please
don't tell, Tate,” I finally say as I ignore his questions.
    “He's your
brother.”
    “I'm well
aware of that,” I say sarcastically.
    Noah sighs.
“You're hurting yourself and it's not healthy. Not to mention dangerous.”
    “I'm always
careful.”
    “Are you?”
he asks sardonically. His brown eyes drop to my left arm before deliberately
lifting to meet my gaze. “I've thought about your little accident with the
window but I don't buy it anymore. The more I've thought about it the past few
days, the more I realize you lied. If you would have fallen through that glass,
there would have been a blood trail leading to the bathroom.” His eyes pin me
to where I sit. “There was no blood trail. Just blood all over the sink and
leading across the floor to the closet.”
    “That was an
accident,” I whisper.
    “An accident
that could have cost you your life. You nicked a damn artery that night. You're
lucky it wasn't worse and you didn't bleed out before getting help.”
    “I'm
normally careful, okay! I screwed up that night.”
    “What was
different about that night?” he asks immediately, his expression sharpening at
my slip-up.
    Me and my
big mouth. 
    Feeling
restless now, I jump to my feet and try to walk away from him but he reaches
out and grabs my upper arm, easily forcing me around to face him. His touch is
firm but gentle, rather than rough like Cole's would have been. I look up at
him, my expression now guarded. “Why can't you let