AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I struggle to keep the tears from falling, but it’s useless. My heart sings with the truth of his words. I’ve imagined this moment a thousand times. A moment I never thought would happen. But then I remember the pain. I remember his taillights disappearing around the corner. The sensation of falling off a cliff. The utter shock that he was the one who pushed me over the edge. The betrayal that raked my soul.I let go of his hands and put space between us.
“I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through, Luke. Nobody should have to deal with that kind of pain. But you’re wasting your time. I’ve met someone.”
He nods. “I know.”
Of course Garrett told him. “Then you know you’re too late.”
He looks at me for a moment, then leans over and tips my chin up with his finger and thumb. He searches my face as my pulse pounds in my ears. I dig my fingernails into my palms to resist the overwhelming urge to kiss him. He nods and stands.
“We’ll see.” He smiles and familiar butterflies flap around in my stomach. Butterflies I thought were long dead. He walks away and heads towards the group waiting by the SUVs.
I watch him leave, absorbing his words. He didn’t say it, but he was giving me the chance to tell him to leave. Letting me decide if I want to risk being around him again. That someone who killed his parents could use me to get to him is terrifying. I should tell him to leave, but we already tried that. It didn’t work. Distance won’t keep the threat away from me.
Plus, this isn’t some fairy tale. In this story, the prince saves the princess from the dragon, then shoves her off a cliff. This is real life. Shit happens and you move on. You don’t climb up the cliff just to get knocked off it again. You swim away to another island. Garrett and Mark are right, though. I need to be honest with myself about what I want.
I wipe away my tears and follow him. They leave me in my silence on the drive home. Luke gave me plenty to think about. As the minutes pass, I keep circling back to the pain I saw in Luke’s eyes when he was apologizing to me. It’s one thing for our friends to tell me he regrets what he did. It’s entirely different seeing it in person. Now that I understand his motives behind leaving me, it makes so much more sense. Even I can be objective about that. But that doesn’t excuse the fact that he did it.
Garrett shows them around the barn and their eyes light up when they see the gym. Everyone leaves me alone except for the occasional smile, just to check in. Even Luke. I can’t stop watching him as he moves around.
We walk to the lake, and I trail behind. Dylan falls into step with me. “Tell me something. I’ve been trying to puzzle it out for a while now, and I can’t figure it out,” he says.
“Figure out what?”
“You forgave your ex-husband for cheating on you. You even forgave your mom for abandoning you. Now that you know the truth, why can’t you forgive Luke for protecting you?”
I come to a stop, but he keeps moving, walking backwards as he speaks. “Just something I thought you should ponder.” He smirks before jogging to catch up to the group.
Damn him. I never thought about it like that. My mom’s words come back to me from our hot dog excursion at the Founders Festival. My dad forgave her and they're happy now. I didn’t think that was a possibility for me and Luke. But now that he’s here, I can feel my resolve slipping. Maybe I was wrong.
