But part of her was terrified.Terrifiedthat once everything came out, evenAcenwouldn’t look at her the same way again.
CHAPTERTWENTY-FIVE
The dock creaked beneath them as a breeze stirred off the river, cool and carrying the scent of rain.Theriver spread out in both directions, a long silver ribbon in the twilight.Afrog croaked somewhere near the bank, and crickets sang their rising chorus.Inthe distance, faint thunder rumbled—a storm building but not yet here.
Rose didn’t sit.Shecouldn’t.Thewooden bench on the dock looked too permanent, too much like a place to settle.Instead, she stood at the edge, arms crossed tight across her chest like she could hold in the memories if she just braced hard enough.Herbody carried the tension of someone holding the levee against years’ worth of floodwater.
Acen stayed quiet.
He knew this wasn’t easy.Hisarms rested loosely at his sides, but his gaze was steady, patient.Hewasn’t going to force her.He’dlearned something about silence in the years he’d been gone.Ithad weight.Sometimesit was heavier than words.
Finally,Roseexhaled.Along, shaky breath that left her shoulders trembling.
“That summer…” she began, her voice distant, thinned by memory, “Iwas supposed to go to college withRiley.Wehad this whole plan.We’dleavePickwickBendtogether, head toKnoxville, share an apartment, build new lives.He’dcoach,I’dbake or teach or do something other than be the girl who never left town.”
Acen nodded slowly.Heremembered how close the twins had always been, almost like one mind split into two bodies.Theirfuture had seemed like a joint package, neatly wrapped and ready to go.Heremembered teasingRoseonce, back when they were eighteen, about how she andRileyought to print business cards with their names side by side.
“But you didn’t go.”Apremonitory chill chased down his spine.He’dnever really thought about that before.WhyRosehadn’t left forKnoxvillewithRileythe way they’d discussed all senior year.
“I didn’t go,” she said, her eyes locked on the water, the moon’s reflection quivering on the surface.“Andeveryone assumed it was because of what happened with you.Thatyou broke my heart, andIcouldn’t handle leaving.ThatIstayed behind to lick my wounds and pretendIwas better off.EvenRileybelieved that.”
The way she said it—flat, with a bitter edge—madeAcen’schest tighten.
“That’s not what happened?”he asked gently.
Her jaw clenched so hard the muscles trembled.“No.Youleaving broke something, sure.ButIcould’ve handled that.Icould’ve gone on.WhatIcouldn’t handle… was what came after.”
Her gaze flicked to him, sharp and pained, before drifting back to the water.
“Briana wasn’t just my best friend back then,Acen.Shewas like a sister.Remember?Wewere inseparable from second grade until that summer.Itold her everything.IncludingthatIwas in love with you.”
The words landed heavy between them.
He blinked, caught off guard, breath faltering.“I—Ididn’t know?—”
“She did,”Rosesaid bitterly, her voice cracking under the strain.“Anda week later, she kissed you at graduation.Andyou let her.”
Acen’s face fell, guilt washing over him in waves.“Ididn’t know she knew.Ithought—Ithought you didn’t feel that way after what she told me that night.Thatyou were done with me and didn’t know how to break it to me.Thatyou andRileywere heading toKnoxvilleand everything we’d planned together was just kid stuff.Iwas stupid.Ithought?—”
“You thoughtIdidn’t care.”Rose’sarms tightened across her chest, nails digging into her arms.“Iwas eighteen.Ididn’t know how to say it.ButItrusted her.Andshe used it to wedge herself between us.”
The weight of betrayal carried years of rust, but it was still sharp as a blade.
Acen rubbed the back of his neck, his voice low.“Shetold me you were done with me.Thatyou’d moved on.ThatRileyhad said he didn’t want us together but didn’t want to tell me.”
Rose gave a strangled laugh, one that wasn’t laughter at all.“Inever moved on.Itried to hate you, andIhated her more.Butit wasn’t even the worst part.”
She stepped back, her body taut like a bowstring, arms still crossed as though shielding her heart.
“Right after you left,” she said softly, “Ifound outIwas pregnant.”
The words hung in the air like thunder without lightning, a pressure that made the night seem stiller, darker.
Acen froze.
“What?”Hisvoice cracked.
Rose looked away, staring at the water as though it might swallow her confession.“Ididn’t tell anyone.NotevenRiley.Iwas eighteen.Ihadn’t told you howIfelt.Iwas terrified.Andthen…Ilost the baby.”
