Autumn watched as he stood. He dropped a kiss on the top of head and then walked out of the kitchen, leaving her alone with her thoughts.
She let out a sigh and dropped her gaze to her coffee again. She knew Jacob was worried about her, but she didn’t know how to tell him what was going on.
She was scared. She didn’t know how to open up to him when all he had done was hurt her. She wanted to trust him, but she couldn’t. Not yet. It was going to take time for her to be able to trust him again, if she ever could.
She pushed her coffee away and dropped her face into her hands. She felt so lost. She didn’t know what she was supposed to be doing.
Jacob seemed different, but was he really? Or was he just pretending? Was he just waiting for her to let her guard down so he could attack again?
She didn’t have the answers, and it scared her. She knew that she couldn’t keep her guard up forever, but for now, she needed it to protect her.
Autumn let out a sigh as she sat on the couch. It had been three days since Jacob had brought her back to his house, and she was still trying to figure out what was going on. Jacob had been nothing but nice to her, and she still couldn’t believe it.
She didn’t understand what was happening. Was he really different, or was this all just some game to him?
She wrapped her arms around herself, feeling lost and alone. She didn’t know where to go from here, and it was scaring her.
Autumn jumped when the front door opened. She turned to look as Jacob stepped into the house. His eyes found hers, and he gave her a small smile.
“Hey,” he said softly. Autumn gave him a small smile in return.
“Hey,” she replied.
Jacob closed the door behind him and then walked over to her.
“How was your day?” he asked as he sat down beside her. Autumn shrugged.
“It was okay,” she replied vaguely.
Jacob frowned but didn’t push the topic.
“That’s good,” he said, dropping a kiss on her forehead. Autumn closed her eyes, taking in his scent. She had missed him while he was gone.
“Where were you?” she couldn’t help but ask. She hated that she had wondered where he was and what he was doing. She shouldn’t care. She shouldn’t want to know.
“Just out,” Jacob replied, looking away. Autumn frowned.
“Oh, okay. Did you have fun?” she asked. A part of her didn’t want to know, but she had to know.
Jacob shrugged. “I guess,” he muttered. Autumn opened her mouth to ask more, but Jacob looked at her.
“How was your day? Did you do anything exciting?” he asked.
“No. I didn’t do much of anything,” Autumn told him. Jacob nodded, looking at her thoughtfully.
He studied her for a few moments before he spoke again.
“You can go out, you know. I don’t expect you to sit inside all day,” he told her.
Autumn raised an eyebrow at him.
“I know. I just didn’t feel like going out today,” she explained.
“Oh. Okay. Well, if you ever want to go out, just let me know, and I can go with you. Or I can have someone take you wherever you want to go,” Jacob offered.
Autumn looked away from him. “Okay,” she whispered. Jacob frowned again, looking down at her.
“Is everything okay?” he asked.
“Yes. Everything is fine,” Autumn assured him quickly.
Jacob studied her again before nodding. “Okay. If you’re sure.”
“I am,” Autumn said, giving him another small smile. She didn’t want him to worry about her. She didn’t want him asking questions.
Jacob smiled back. “Okay. I’m going to go take a shower. I’ll be back,” he told her. He stood and pressed a kiss to the top of her head before walking out of the room, leaving Autumn alone again.
Autumn took a shaky breath, her wolf whimpering inside of her. She didn’t understand why Jacob was being so nice. She didn’t get it.
She had been convinced that Jacob hated her, but his actions lately were proving her wrong.
She didn’t know if she should be happy or worried. Part of her was happy that he was being nice, but the other part of her was worried that it wouldn’t last.
She took another breath and closed her eyes. She wasn’t going to think about it anymore. She needed to clear her mind. She couldn’t think about Jacob and what he was or wasn’t doing.
She focused on her breathing, trying to push away all thoughts of Jacob. It didn’t work. He was still there, in her mind.
Autumn stood in front of the bathroom mirror, staring at her reflection. Her blonde hair hung around her face, and she could see the dark circles under her eyes.
She looked awful. She felt awful.
She turned the sink on and cupped some water into her hands, splashing it onto her face. She wiped her face with a towel and then turned to walk out of the bathroom.
She froze when she saw Jacob standing in the doorway.
“What are you doing?” she asked, looking up at him. He leaned against the door frame and looked down at her.
“I could ask you the same thing,” he replied. Autumn frowned, dropping her eyes.
“I was just washing my face. I’m tired,” she muttered. She went to step past him, but Jacob stopped her.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, taking hold of her arm. Autumn looked up at him and shook her head.
“I told you, I’m just tired. I’m going to bed,” she said. She tried to step past him again, but he stopped her once more.
“You can’t keep avoiding me, Autumn. Talk to me. Tell me what’s wrong,” he demanded, holding onto her arm.