“We need to talk,” Alfie says quietly.
Troy’s laugh is sharp. “Now you want to talk? After spending all summer sneaking and hooking up with my sister?”
“It wasn’t like that.” Alfie takes a step forward, and I catch the way his hands clench at his sides. “Nothing was supposed to happen.”
“But something did happen,” Troy says. It’s not a question.
The air crackles between them, years of friendship suddenly charged with something darker. I should say something, step between them, but my voice feels stuck in my throat.
“Troy—” I start.
“Did you sleep with her?”
The question hits like a slap. Alfie’s silence is answer enough.
Troy moves so fast I barely register it. One second he’s standing next to me, the next he has Alfie pinned against the brick wall of Moe’s.
God, he’s being such an asshole. We all knew he’d react like this - it’s exactly why we kept it secret. Because his little sister makes her own choices about who to sleep with.
“You don’t get to do this,” Troy spits out angrily, forearm pressed against Alfie’s chest. “Not with her. Not with Tara.”
Alfie doesn’t fight back. Doesn’t even try to break Troy’s hold. He just stands there, accepting it like he thinks he deserves it. Something in my chest cracks at the sight.
“She’s not like the girls at those clubs your family drags you to,” Troy continues. “She’s not some arrangement or whatever fucked up thing you think a relationship is. She has real fucking feelings and she loves hard.”
“I know that.” Alfie’s voice is quiet but steady. “Trust me, I know exactly how special she is.”
“Do you?” Troy presses harder. “Because I’ve watched you for years, man. The careful distance, the walls, the way you never let anyone get close. And that’s fine - it’s your life. But Tara?” His voice breaks slightly. “Tara feelseverything. She puts her whole heart into everything. I won’t let you play with that just because you’re scared of turning into your father.”
I want to scream. Want to remind them both that I’m standing right here, that my heart is mine to risk. But something in Alfie’s expression stops me.
“You think I don’t know that?” Alfie’s mask finally cracks. “You think I don’t lie awake at night terrified that I’ll hurt her? That I’ll taint her somehow with all my family’s bullshit?”
“She deserves so much better than?—”
“Than what?” I cut in, unable to stay quiet any longer. “Than somebody you approves of? I need you to stop making decisions for me, Troy. Starting now.”
Then I force myself to look at Alfie, to say the words that feel like splinters in my throat. “We don’t owe him explanation, but it doesn’t matter anymore. It’s over.”
Alfie’s head snaps up, those dark eyes finding mine. For a moment, I see everything there - confusion, hurt, a silent plea that makes my chest ache. But I hold his gaze until he gets it. Until he gives me the smallest nod, accepting this choice even though I can see he doesn’t want to.
“She’s right.” His voice is flat, distant. “It’s finished.”
“She’s right. It’s finished,” Alfie says.
Troy looks between us, his expression unreadable. Then his eyes land on me—sharp, assessing, like he’s trying to figure out if I actually believe what I just said. Something in that look makes something snap inside me.
I step closer. “Troy. Listen to me for once.” My voice shakes, but I keep going. “Let him go.”
“Tara—”
“I said let him go.” Something in my tone must get through because Troy’s grip loosens. “You don’t get to do this. You don’t get to act like I’m still that little girl who needed protecting. I decide who I let in.”And who I push away, I add silently, not daring to look at Alfie again.
Troy steps back, but not before locking eyes with Alfie.
Oh god. Is someone about to do something stupid?
A silent exchange passes between them, one I can’t quite decipher. Then, after a beat, Alfie gives the smallest nod, and Troy’s shoulders ease, just barely.
