Free Unhinged by Pamela Ann

you…
    Falling asleep in his arms, I vowed the words to my heart over and over again.

    Hours later, I woke up from the vibrations of my phone that was in my clutch behind my back. My eyes were swollen, and the dried tears made it hard to open them. Peeling them wider, I blinked a few times before I noted the rise and fall of Hugo’s chest and the calming beat of his heart that had lulled me to sleep without a fight.
    Slowly twisting myself around, I shifted my body to face away from him before reaching for my purse, taking the phone out to check who the caller was. I had several from my father, a few calls and messages from Claire, and the recent one from Damen. Glancing at the time, I wondered what he wanted at three-thirty in the morning.
    Just as I finished wondering, my phone vibrated once more, indicating a text message.
    It was from Damen.
    Where are you? I’m in your bed. I’m sorry, but I had to be with you. This is the only place I want to be, Izz.
    Shit . Quickly typing back my reply, I attempted to figure out what to do next.
    You’re drunk, aren’t you?
    That was the only explanation. Damen continually made drastic gestures when drunk. Always.
    I was with her tonight … I couldn’t do it, Izz.
    Fuck . What did I say to that?
    Biting my lip, I stared at the screen, speechless, until my phone vibrated again.
    Izz? Are you mad?
    No, of course I wasn’t mad. However, if I told him the truth about my whereabouts and what I had been up to earlier tonight, he would be very unforgiving. To make matters worse, Damen wouldn’t leave until I was back, and if I decided to come home in the morning, I would deal with more interrogation, so it was best to handle it right now.
    Hating myself for leaving Hugo’s side, I also couldn’t deny the fact that he didn’t try anything sexual with me. I basically fell asleep in his arms, sobbing until I was unconscious. It was a subtle rejection, but it was a big sign, nonetheless.
    Gently rolling to shift to my other side to face him, I let my eyes feast on him sleeping soundly. My phone kept vibrating, but I ignored it, wanting to memorize this moment in my heart forever.
    Last night was our last, and I was appreciative that he had given me that courtesy, comforting me even though he was the reason I was broken. This was it. I could walk away, thinking that we had somehow had a moment together.
    “ I will never forget you,” I whispered before leaving a kiss on his chest.
    Releasing a sigh, I took hold of my purse then began to edge away from him, only to release a shrieking sound when I felt a strong, tight grip on my arm.
    “ You’re going back to him, aren’t you?” he hissed out murderously.
    I wasn’t going back to him in the sense he was implying, but given the death stare he was giving me, I had to tell him what had happened.
    “ I have to. I don’t know what happened, but he’s in my bedroom—”
    “ I didn’t buy you a place so you could fuck him there, Isobel!” The demon was back, and he was seeing red everywhere.
    “ I know you didn’t, Hugo—”
    “ But you did, didn’t you?”
    I knew saying anything at this point was too much, so instead, I remained silent, feeling the heavy weight of his revulsion.
    “ Answer me!”
    Casting my eyes down, I bit into my lip, contemplating if I should tell him. “I did everything … everything but that.”
    He released a big sigh of relief before he let go of my arm then slid off the bed. Then back and forth he went, pacing at the foot of the bed before finally stopping in the middle, throwing me a questioning look.
    “ Are you planning to?”
    “ No. Right now, no, of course not.”
    He was judging me with my past actions once more, and it stung greatly that I would forever be known to him as the woman who had slept with another man after leaving his bed.
    “ You will, though … Someday, you will because, deep down, you believe you belong with him.”
    Did I? At one point in time, I truly did. Now? I