Awaken Me (The Jaded Series Book 4) by Alex Grayson Page A

feet. Chris is still on the couch reading her book. Neither of us acknowledges the other as I walk by, but I feel her eyes on me as I go into the kitchen.
    What does she see that makes her so interested in me? What am I to her?
    Ignoring the questions rolling around in my head, I go straight to the pot on the stove. There’s a clean bowl on the counter beside it. She finished the chili over an hour ago, but the pot is still hot, indicating she must have kept it warm for me. I feel a pang of guilt in my stomach at the thought. All she’s ever done is be nice, and I repay her by being an asshole. It’s in her best interests, though.
    After scooping a generous amount of food into the bowl, I take a taste and nearly burn my tongue off in the process. It’s good. Very good.
    I grab a container and pour the rest of the chili into it to store in the fridge for later. It’s the least I can do, since she cooked.
    I open the fridge to grab a beer and then scowl when I remember Chris poured them all down the drain. It’s times like these that I truly hate the damn woman. She has no right making decisions like that for me. If I want to drink myself into a drunken stupor, then I should be allowed to.
    See? My emotions are all over the place when it comes to Chris.
    Instead of my much-needed beer, I grab a glass and get some water from the sink. I take both my glass of godforsaken water and my chili and walk back into the living room. Chris is still in the same position on the couch; back against the armrest and knees drawn up with a blanket thrown over her legs.
    I don’t say anything as I sit on the opposite end of the couch. She pauses in her reading and looks at me. I ignore her, pick up the remote, and switch on the TV. I flip it to football. She cranes her head around to look at the TV and then looks back down at her book. I eat and watch TV in silence, while she sits there and reads. I can tell she’s distracted though, because I haven’t seen her flip a page once.
    After I finish my food, I set my bowl down on the coffee table and kick my feet up beside it with one arm propped up along the back of the couch.
    “Chili was good,” I say quietly with my eyes still on the TV. “Thank you.”
    My words surprise her. I can tell because she drops her book in her lap. I can see her shocked expression from the corner of my eye.
    It takes her a few seconds, but she eventually responds with “You’re welcome.”
    She doesn’t pick her book back up. Instead she sets it down on the couch between us and swings her legs around until they are on the floor. With the blanket still in her lap she turns to watch the game with me.
    During a commercial break she faces me again and says, “You need food. I used the last meat in the freezer and all you have in the fridge is limp lettuce and a few condiments. Can we go to Evelyn’s for groceries tomorrow? Or take me to my car so I can go?”
    I contemplate her question before answering. I know I need food. I’ve been living off microwavable dinners for too long, and I know I ate the last one the other night. But I really don’t want to spend time with her if I don’t have to.
    Instead of answering, I ask a question of my own.
    “How long you plan on staying? Don’t you have work?”
    As stressful as it is to have her here, I can’t help but feel a tiny bit of pleasure. It’s fucked-up that I feel that way, but it is what it is. And I have no idea why. It’s not like I want her here.
    “As long as it takes,” she says, shrugging. “And no, it’s a four-day weekend, and I can take off Wednesday as well if I want.”
    “Don’t,” I tell her harshly.
    Her body jerks at my hard tone. When I finally look at her, the concern is back in her eyes. Doesn’t she realize I don’t want or need her concern? Why won’t this girl just give up already?
    “You’ve stayed long enough. You can go back and tell everyone I’m fine. Jaxon took my gun, so there’s no chance I’ll shoot