Connor had been hurt by Abby plenty of times. All the rejection in the beginning, the keeping her distance, blowing him off when all he'd ever wanted was her. And yet, despite everything, he still hated hurting her like this. Some men might have reveled in it. Called this their moment in time, getting back at her for the constant loneliness he felt around her.
But Connor never was and never would be like those men. He was eager to please, a giant puppy in some ways. All the times Abby had (figuratively, of course) smacked his nose with the newspaper, he'd still come running back, hopeful and earnest. Until those last few months. After he'd been hurt so badly by what Caroline had done, he'd given up. Obviously, no one was ever going to want him. Not for him, not for just him. And that included Abby. So it had become his turn to keep her at arm's length. Oh, he still wanted her to notice him. He still lay awake at night, listening for the noises that came from her room and wishing she'd just pop her head in to chat or, better still, to tell him she'd come to a conclusion that ended up with them together. But he'd accepted it; no one would want him, least of all her.
It had taken Kimberly to break him out of that, and even that hadn't been easy. She'd practically had to yank him out of that mindset, only for him to find the television show with him on it and there he was, finally snogging the girl he'd loved for years. And, at the time, he could accept it as fiction, because Abby was back in their world and he was there, with Kim.
And now everything was all kinds of complicated and there was no way out of it.
He cracked a little smile at her comment. "We've made jokes about fighting the Seal around here. Like it's an actual physical thing. Remind me to show you the picture my friend Allana made sometime." There was no denying the little thrill that went through him at the idea of introducing Abby to everything Lawrence. It had taken time but he'd found himself there. People trusted him and depended on him. He had a serious role in the Complex, he helped out the students the Seal brought through, and he'd become a fighter in his own right, helping to fight off demons.
Which only reminded him. "We have to get you an amulet before anything else. For protection. The apartment complex where I live, it's the safest place in town. It's protected against demons, and Lucifer himself. Which is an actual thing here, believe it or not. And it's safe against humans, too. I should know, I do the work on it." Looking up, he pointed ahead. "That building there? That's us. It's free, too. And we keep it well stocked with food and things to do."