”Why are you pushing me away?”
❤ ▬▬ EMOTIONAL STARTERS TO KICK YOU IN THE FEELINGS. / @perfectpunctuation
was he? perhaps not deliberately. perhaps in ways which, in spite of remaining subtle, had failed to achieve the not so unconscious aim of being inconspicuous. strike wasn’t the kind of man telling himself lies - even where robin was concerned. especially where robin was concerned. he wasn’t the kind of man who would feed her lies, either. not the necessary ones, at any rate. he’d once pretended to sack her; and the phony situation hadn’t been one to her, the hurt inflicted as vivid and genuine as if he’d genuinely got rid of her. was he to give her a fake answer now? to offer some reason that would ring true whilst being completely fabricated for her benefit?
admitting emotions, confessing an attraction, had never proven to be a problem for strike. his mind was too pragmatically analytical to make room for a coy embarrassment most people were bound to feel when standing in front of the very one they… they what? fancied? too weak and too shallow. liked? liked would make him sound like a teenager. loved? far too deep and raw.
“i’ve been busy,” he replied. his eyes found hers. looking at her would give weight to his words. “i’m sorry if you’ve felt that i…” he shrugged, picked up the cup of tea she’d just made. of course she had. these sorts of conversations required a cup, something to hold. “”i didn’t mean to.” strike, you fucking liar. “i suppose we’ve both been busy, though. go on then, bring me up to date.”