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I tug on my ponytail, bringing the end to my mouth and chewing at the soft tuft. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re sorry.” He snorts, but doesn’t sound amused.
What he sounds like is very, very angry, and it’s making my heart pound.
“I only found out a few days ago myself.”
“But you waited. And didn’t take my calls. Why?”
I shrug. His anger is making me defensive. “I wasn’t ready to discuss it, okay?”
“Yeah, sure, that’s fucking okay.”
“What do you want from me, Jarett?” I stalk to the end of the porch, to the steps. “Want me to go right now? I came to tell you. And it’s not the end of the world.”
He casts me a strange look, and I think I see pain in his pretty eyes, a shock rippling through their depths.
Then he looks away and something shifts in his posture. “Yeah. You’re right.”
I don’t want to be right. I don’t like the way his expression has closed off, his eyes gone flat and empty. “Rett...”
“It doesn’t fucking matter if you leave,” he goes on, interrupting me, his voice hard. “In fact, you should go now, get ready. Not much time left.”
I can’t speak for a long moment, my heart in my throat. Tears prick the back of my eyes. “Rett, don’t do this.”
“Do what?” He blinks, long lashes hiding his eyes. “You’re the one who’s leaving.”
“But I...” I stop, horrified when my voice breaks. What can I say? He’s right. It’s not my fault, but it’s my fault for not telling him immediately, for not answering my phone. I still don’t understand why he’s so furious with me, though. “I wish I wasn’t.”
“It makes no difference.” His broad shoulders roll in a slight shrug. “Everyone leaves sooner or later. You might as well go now, before I start giving a damn.”
I flinch, startled at how much his words hurt. “You don’t mean that. We’re friends, we—”
“We’ve never been friends.” He spits the word like it tastes bitter on his tongue. “We’ve never... You know what? Just go. And don’t fucking ever call me again. I’m done.”
No.
He can’t mean it.
But this is exactly what I feared, isn’t it? That he’d let me go so easily, that he doesn’t much care if I stick around or not. He only got all pissy because I didn’t tell him earlier.
Screw him.
Screw him seven ways to Sunday, and I hope I’ll never see his face again, and...
And I can’t bear this pain.
Blindly, I turn to go, and clap a hand over my mouth as I stumble down the steps. No way am I going to sob in front of the bastard. No way is he seeing how badly it hurts.
If he’s done with me, then it’s about time I let him go.
Epilogue
Jarett
When I first lay eyes on the girl with the big blue eyes and pouty lips, when she followed me home and talked to me, I never thought we’d click. Never thought she’d become my anchor.
Never realized she’d be the girl who’d break my fucking heart.
