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I STAND IN THE middle of campus, searching for the only girl who makes me want to be a better person. Students fill the courtyard as they move from one class to another, but when my eyes land on Kennedy, it's like none of them even exist. She's walking with Tye on one side of her and Amelia on the other. One of them must say something funny, because her face lights up as she laughs.
Doing everything I can to keep the nerves at bay, I grip the small velvet box in my hand and walk determinedly over to her. It's now or never. The moment the three girls see me, they stop. Amelia's brows furrow as she notices the look on my face, but I'm too busy paying attention to Kennedy. Because that's what she does when she's around, and I was stupid to ever let anyone else have my attention before.
Kennedy sighs as I stand in front of her, but her eyes widen as I drop down on one knee.
“What the hell are you doing?” Amelia asks.
Tye presses her fist to her mouth in an attempt to conceal her laughter, but she fails miserably. Kennedy glances between them and then back at me.
“Easton, get up,” she tells me.
I shake my head. “No. Not until I do this.”
“Don't,” my sister whispers harshly. Tye reaches out for me, shaking her head, but I shrug her off.
People around us stop to watch as I open the box and show Kennedy the ring—a princess-cut diamond encased in white gold that belonged to my grandmother.
“Marry me, Kennedy,” I say firmly. “I want to marry you.”
“Easton,” she breathes, sounding regretful.
I reach forward and grab her hand. “I'm serious. I want to get married.”
She pulls her gaze from mine and looks around for a second. “I'm having a baby. A baby that just days ago you suggested aborting.”
“I know, but I want to marry you anyway.”
“Anyway?” she scoffs. “As if our baby is just some extra feature you'll deal with to get your way?”
Fuck. “No. I didn't mean it like that.”
“How else does it mean?”
As my knee starts to sink into the wet ground, I stand up. I try to take her into my arms, but she backs away before I can get anywhere close.
“Please. Marry me so we can be a family.”
She stays completely still for a second, thinking it over, and my heart drops as she shakes her head and takes another step away from me. “I'm sorry. No.”
Everything inside me feels like it's on fire. Burning and melting and scorching all I had left. Her rejection is a level of pain I've never felt before. And as she leaves me standing there, the ring still safely in the box, I don't know if I'll ever recover from this.
I PACE BACK AND FORTHacross Tessa's oversized living room. With everything running through my head, I honestly didn't know where else to go. I couldn't go home where Amelia would find me and demand to know what on earth I was thinking. I couldn't go to Kennedy's, because I'm clearly the last person she wants to see. So, I texted Tess to find out if she was home or at Safe & Sound, thus ending up here—in the penthouse she shares with Asher.
Tess sits on the couch, watching me, as I practically create track marks into her rug. She's yet to say anything since I got here, but then again, I haven't really given her the chance. I don't know where to start.
Asher comes out of the bedroom wearing a suit and tie. “What's wrong with him?”
Tessa purses her lips and tilts her head, her eyes never leaving me. “I'm not sure. I think he's broken.”
Her boyfriend chuckles and bends down to kiss the top of her head. He never has been my biggest fan. Then again, I can't say I blame him. I tried to steal the woman he loves. Granted, she was mine first, but she was always meant to be with him. And then to top it off, I nearly killed her. I'd hate me, too, if I were him.
“I'll see you when I get home later,” he tells her. “You going to be able to handle him?”
She nods. “He's harmless.”
“My memory says otherwise.”
He sends me a warning glare that barely even registers as he steps into the elevator, and then he's gone, leaving me alone with Tessa. She sighs heavily and gets up. Without missing a beat, she puts her hands on my shoulders and stops me from my continuous pacing.
