He drags his hand down his mouth and laughs humorlessly. “Wow, youreallydon’t know, do you?”
“Obviously not. Enlighten me.” I can’t hide the annoyance in my voice. I’m so tired of everyone tiptoeing around what they want to say.
“Oh,come on, Sadie. He’s in love with you.”
The hysterical laugh that erupts out of me is uncontrollable. Evidently Lane has lost his mind if he thinks Wesley feelsanythingeven close to love for me. I don’t think Wesley is even capable of feeling something that deeply.
I catch my breath and look back up at Lane. His arms are now crossed over his chest and his face is unamused.
“You cannot be serious.”
I’m smiling because apparently that’s what I do now in incredulous situations.
“As a heart attack.”
I roll my eyes. I always thought that expression was stupid, and I’ve already reached my limit with this entire conversation.
“Lane, I want you to hear me,reallyhear me when I say this. There isnothinggoing on between Wesley and me. Nothing, okay?”
He shakes his head, raising his voice. “I’ve seen the way he looks at you. The way you look at him. You guys were practically eye fucking that night—” He cuts himself off, jaw tight.
“That is ridiculous. Do you hear yourself right now? You just asked if I waswithEmmett, and now, all of a sudden, Wesley isin lovewith me? You’re actually delusional.”
I turn for the door but his arm shoots out, blocking it. The porch shrinks, becoming suffocatingly smaller.
“Lane—pleasedon’t.”
His eyes search mine, desperate and frustrated all at once. “You were mine. He ruined us.”
My breath catches, not from fear exactly, but from the weight of the past pressing in. “You ruined us, Lane. Nobody poured whiskey down your throat.Youbroke us all on your own.”
He flinches, gaze darting away. For a moment, I think he’s going to say something else, something cruel—but instead he exhales slowly, slumping his shoulders as he backs off.
“I know.”
The porch door bursts open.
Emmett’s the first one through, Wesley right behind him. They’re both tense, like they’ve been waiting to intervene.
They step between Lane and I without a word, like a silent human shield. The space they fill feels like oxygen rushing into a room that’s been closed for too long. My lungs finally unlock.
Lane stiffens, taking another step back. And I…I can finally breathe, even if it hurts.
I drag in a shaky breath as one tear escapes, tracking hot down my cheek.Humiliating.“I want you to leave me alone,” I manage, my voice raw.
Lane flinches, like the words hit straight into his core. His eyes are glassy and red-rimmed.
I swallow hard. “Not forever,” I add, softer this time. “Just for now. I need space. Time.” My throat tightens around the words, but I push them through. “You said you’d honor it if I asked. So I’m asking.”
For a second, I think he might fight it. His lips part like he wants to explain, to promise something different. But then he closes them again, jaw trembling once before he nods.
“Okay.” It’s barely a sound. A word that breaks apart as soon as it leaves him.
He steps back, careful, like he’s afraid the porch might splinter beneath him. Every creak of the wood sounds louder than it should. He doesn’t look at Wesley. Doesn’t look at Emmett. Just me.
One last look, and then he turns, heading down the steps into the dark.
His truck stays where it is, untouched and abandoned like everything else between us.
