Page 102 of Seein’ Red

My cheeks burn hot, embarrassment spilling out of me like water from a fire hose. Talk about things my father never needs to know about me. Daddy’s little girl status might be in jeopardy after some of that.

A tear trickles down my cheek, leaving a wet trail on my hot skin, doing nothing to cool it. As much as I want to keep it together, I can’t. Not anymore.

“He hurt me once. I can’t let him do it again.”

“Sounds to me like he wants to do the exact opposite,” Anton comments.

“I can’t take that risk,” I blurt out. It sounds crazy out loud, even though in my head it’s as sound as any argument I’ve ever made. “It’s hard to explain, but I can’t. It hurt so fucking bad when we were younger, and I won’t do it again.”

“So you’re going to hurt yourself instead?” Jace asks. “Because that’s all you’re doing here. You’re in just as much pain, just at your own hand instead of his.”

“Again, you’re an idiot,” Milo chimes in. “Too stubborn for your own good.”

I flip him the bird, which he returns just as quickly.

“If you love him, you need to go after him,” Jace says.

“Oh, she loves him,” Ewan mutters. “You can hear it in the way she screams his name.”

“Excuse you?!”

Did Ewan just say…? No, no way.

“Willa, we share a building and you are not as quiet as you think.”

Oooops…so much for it being a secret…

“You’ve known this whole time? Why didn’t you say anything?”

Ewan shrugs. “You don’t comment on my personal life; who am I to comment on yours?”

It’s a fair point. One I respect and am deeply grateful for. However, the ambush I’m currently trying to navigate negates any goodwill I’m feeling toward my brothers.

“Y’all seem to have no problem commenting now. Even though not a single one of you knows anything about being in a relationship.” Jace starts to speak, but I stop him, snapping my fingers. “The fact that you read romance novels does not make you an expert, Jace.”

“What I believe your brothers are trying to say,” Auggie interjects, trying to rein in the chaos, “is that they want you to be happy. As your family, we will stand by whatever choice you make, but we also know you better than you think. Which means we see the way you look at Nash Keller when you think no one is watching. And any man willing to come in here and humble himself like that in front of this lot is worth the risk of getting hurt.”

Worth the risk…

I let out a heavy exhale, sitting back in my chair. Thinking back on this week, how happy I was, the butterflies take flight again. I had my best friend back. I had a future that I’ve been secretly fantasizing about. Which is something I can’t deny now. That whenever I’ve closed my eyes and pictured what I want with my life, Nash is there with me.

Something that can be a reality. Because he loves me. Just like I love him.

He might have the power to hurt me like no one else, but that also means he has the power to love like no one else.

I need to not be scared of it. Of loving him and him loving me back. After all, the greatest thing you’ll ever learn is to love, and to be loved in return, right?

For something that sounds so simple, I know it’s not. But I also know it’s worth it. He’s worth it.

“Also we’re all on Nash’s side,” Gus adds. “You need to go after him.”

“I second that,” Milo says, as if Gus’s comment was an actual motion.

“All in favor?” Hux asks, continuing the procedure.

“Aye!” All seven of them raise their hands, answering in unison.

I look around for a long moment, trying to process what they just did. My brothers and my dad just voted Nash into the family. Unanimously.