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“You and her in bed together. And she was so convincing. Crying and apologizing, saying that it just happened, it was an accident. And that she didn’t want me telling you that she showed them to me so that you wouldn’t get upsetwith her–” Laney emits a bitter laugh. “I should have known then that none of it was true.”
She should have known from the first second. I don’t care if she was tricked, she should have known I would never cheat on her.
I withhold my anger from the surface, though it’s boiling inside me. “How did you find out they were fake?”
“It wasn’t until a couple months later. One of my other friends knew. Can you believe it? They fucking knew, and they let her get away with the lie and–” Laney rolls her eyes. “Turns out, Jules just wanted you for herself, and when you fled to California, and that dream was dashed, she moved along, and my other friend felt guilty.”
I tense my hands around the edge of the bench. All those years. Lost because of a fucking trick. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because you were gone! You changed your number! You left the fucking state because of me! What was I supposed to do?”
“Find me! That’s what people do! They do everything they can for the one they love!” That’s what I would do for her. Maybe she didn’t feel the same way.
Laney shakes her head, lines appearing on her forehead. “Mason, I was too embarrassed. I’d let someone get in my head and lost the best thing I ever had. How could I face you after that?”
I stare at her, looking for something to say. But nothing comes out.
“If there’s anything you hear from me today, anything at all, it’s not that I don’t trust you,” Laney says. “It’s that I don’t even trust myself.”
I cross my arms over my chest.
I can see how that would be a roadblock for her. Howshe can get in her own way now. “That was a long time ago.”
Laney glances at me.
I frown. “I’m not saying I’m over it. Obviously.”
“That’s fair. I’m not expecting that.”
I swallow. “But I want to be. I’m going to work to get over it.”
“You don’t have to, Mason, seriously. It’s–”
“Laney–” I grab her hand and fold it between mine, pulling it right to my chest.
Our eyes are locked. “I won’t lie. I’m hurt that you’d believe that after we built something so beautiful together.”
Her fingers spread out across my chest, and she glances at the necklace around my throat.
She smiles at the touch, a sad, solemn smile.
“I’ll…have to process that. But it’s not enough of a hurt not to want you anymore.”
The smile fades. “Mason, it’s so fucking complicated. With Nate, it’s–”
“We’ve talked about it. Nate and me. It doesn’t have to be complicated.”
She looks at me like I’m crazy. “What is that supposed to mean?”
One thing at a time. Just take it slow. “Nothing. Means nothing.”
I pull her arm a little more, and as soon as she’s close enough, I scoop her up into my arms.
“Mase…”
“You always fit here so well.”
She turns her face away from mine, flushing all the way to her hairline.
