“That’s not necessary.”
My hand shook when I reached for my trash can, thinking I was going to puke any second. “It seems like it might be if you’re backing out of our deal.” The words came out with a desperate chuckle, but there was no way in hell I could even scrape together a professional tone.
“I know this is a shock, and I’m sorry for any inconvenience this has caused.”
“You could say that again,” I choked, my eyes burning. How the hell was I going to explain this to everyone? We were counting on this money. Cavendish Academy was fronting the cost of the construction and paying for most of our overhead, but we needed this cash to set Freedom Reins apart and take us to the next level.
Claire was going tostrangleme. She still hadn’t entirely forgiven me for taking the lunch on my own, but tolerated it since Ethan was on board. But she sure as shit wouldn’t forgive me now that Ethan was pulling his funding.
I sat upright, head spinning. “There isn’t anything I can do to change your mind? I’m not above begging.”
“I’m afraid not. I wish you and your team the best of luck, Delilah.” In other words:Go fuck yourself. This conversation is over.
“Yeah, thanks, Ethan,” I murmured, defeated. I weakly slid the receiver back in its cradle.
“What the fuck now?” I buried my face in my hands. A month out from opening, and we were essentially back at square one. Reaching behind me for the throw pillow on the loveseat, I brought the light blue cushion to my face and screamed.
I huggedmy knees by the creek, staring at the water, while trying to come up with ways to fix this. Ethan didn’t seem the type to be swayed, and I wasn’t about to do anything crazy—but I had to figure this out.
Leaves crunched behind me, but I didn’t bother turning around.
“Where have you been?” Emmett said as he sat down beside me. “Been looking for you.”
My heart skipped a beat, but I didn’t lift my head. “Here. Hiding.”
My response was only met with silence until he said, “From me?”
My stomach twisted. “No. Well, kind of. But it’s not because of”—I turned my head, looking up at him—“It’s not about us.” That felt silly to say, considering there wasn’t an us. Couldn’t be an us. His leaving me to wake up alone on Monday morning told me that much.
His brows furrowed. “Then what is it?”
I felt like a failure, letting down this family that felt more like mine than my own. That let me stay with them forunknown amounts of time while my mother went on benders. My throat tightened at the thought of their disappointment—though, somehow, I had a feeling they wouldn’t be surprised. I didn’t exactly have a stellar track record.
Emmett tilted his head, and the line between his brows deepened. “Talk to me, Lilah.”
That word was like a bulldozer to my defenses, opening the floodgates. My chin quivered, and my eyes welled with tears. I’d been holding them back all day, but I couldn’t anymore. Not with him sitting here looking at me like I meant something to him. “I screwed up,” I whimpered, my voice shaking. “Big.”
His eyes darted all over me before he scooped me up, placing me in his lap so I was straddling him. He wiped away my tears, touching me with more care than he ever had. “I don’t like these tears,” he said, his voice gruff. Pained. “What happened, sugar?”
I broke. “I lost the sponsorship for Freedom Reins.” The words came out between sobs. I fell forward, my head landing on his shoulder while I wept. “I don’t know…what happened,” I cried, clinging to him. “Ethan called this morning…and he said he heard”—I sniffled—“things about me.”
Emmett’s hands stilled on my back, his body tensing beneath mine. “What kind of things?”
I shook my head, likely smearing tears and snot on his shirt. “I don’t know. He wouldn’t tell me.” And then I told him about the rest of the phone call, and how Macy called a few weeks ago. I sat up, wiping my face, embarrassed for crying in front of him. “I never should’ve been put in charge of this,” I whimpered, wiping away the new tears as they fell. “I thought I could handle it, but I don’t think I can. Maybe I really am just the fuck up friend that no one can rely on.”
Emmett’s hands darted out, bracketing my face. His touch was firm. Commanding. A wild look in his eyes. “Don’teverletme hear you say that kind of shit about yourself again. You hear me?”
“But—”
“Delilah,” he cut me off. “You arenotthe fuck up friend. You’re the devoted friend, the loyal friend, the dependable friend. You’re Tess’s therapist for fuck’s sake. Tried to be mine.” He shook his head, eyes darting all over me. “What is that saying? The one everyone uses now about friends like you.”
The corner of my mouth lifted with a barely there smile. He never knew the latest trends—I loved it. “Ride or die.”
He smoothed my hair with a small smile, his eyes glittering in the fading sun. “Yeah, you’re a ride or die girl, sugar.”
I toyed with his silver chain, unable to meet his gaze. “How ride or die is it of me to be fucking my friends’ brother behind their backs?”
He flinched. It was barely there, but enough for me to notice. I hated that my words hurt him, but it was true. I’d always prided myself on being a good friend, but sneaking around with him made me feel selfish in a way I didn’t know how to come back from. And even worse, it didn’t matter how guilty I felt; I still didn’t want to give Emmett up.
