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Five minutes before my shift was up, my phone chimed with a text message. Unlocking my phone, I brought up our text string, because I knew it had to be Samantha texting me back. Ty was here, and they were the only two that I interacted with most of the time.
Sorry. Stayed at Lex's, we need to talk.
Shit. He told her.
I'm off in five.
Meet you at the park?
I glanced over to the windows, and the sun was appearing for the day. The rainbow of fire painting the sky would make the river look amazing at this time of day.
I'll see u there.
"Was that her?" Ty asked with a quirked eyebrow that said he already knew the answer.
"Yeah, she wants to talk," I said. His eyes widened slightly, and I broke eye contact, shrugging. "It will be fine."
"What are you gonna do if she found out about your cosplaying?"
My fingers ran over my lips as I thought about what I would do. What could I even say if she found out, and I wasn't the one to tell her? My stomach rolled at the thought, she wouldn't take it well. That was an understatement. She would hate me for lying to her. Not that I'd ever come out and say those rumors those boys started weren't true. It was the simple fact that I hadn't said the opposite when I could have.
"I don't know." Every single emotion inside of me weighed those three words down.
CHAPTER 32
Samantha
It was a beautiful morning,crisp and bright. A part of me still wished I was in Lex's arms, in his warm bed. But I knew neither one of us would get anything done if I stayed another day. I couldn't believe I had been with him for over twenty-four hours. It felt like a dream, one I wanted to stay in forever. He made me feel soft inside with his confession of love, and even more so with how many times he showed me. I was surprised I could even walk.
Watching the sunrise over the river was always special. Brook and I had come here after our all night party for graduation and watched the first sunrise of the rest of our life. Then I would come here after a night of partying with Ty or some random guy. Sit in my car and watch the new day start. It was like a fresh start each day. Washing away everything that came before in the rays that warmed the day.
My stomach betrayed the fact that I was nervous. How did you tell the man you loved you were also in love with someone else? That you didn't want to give either of them up? Could he handle that? Would he run from me? Leave me standing herealone? The questions kept firing as I watched the seagulls dart for the river and sometimes dive into it to catch their breakfast.
"Hey," Raiden called, and his voice washed over me, like a comfort I never wanted to give up.
I turned toward him, and he shoved his hands into his pockets. He looked like hell. As I studied him, he stepped closer and tossed his hair to the side with a flick of his head. Narrowing my eyes, I took in the slight way his shoulders slumped, and he visibly blushed under my attention.
"Hey," I said finally. "You okay?"
"Yeah, everything is fine," he said. Except he was tense, reserved in a way Raiden never was.
It was the fact I had confessed to being with Lex. I knew it in my gut. I could feel tears gather behind my eyes, and I blinked them away as I turned back to look at the sun already fully above the horizon. My fingers played with the dips in the wooden fence as he stepped next to me. I shot a glance at him from the corner of my eye as he faced me.
"What did you need to talk to me about?" Did he sound off?
I licked my lips as I drew courage around me like armor. Then I leaned my elbow on the fence as I shifted to give him my full attention. "I'm not sure how to say this," I started before I ran out of air and had to suck in a noisy breath. "Oh, crap." I rubbed at my forehead. This was impossible.
"Just spit it out," he commanded, his voice husky with emotion.
Fear seized my chest the longer the silence stretched between us. His steel gray orbs pleaded with me to just rip the Band-Aid off. The swallow that moved my throat caught mid-movement like I had something lodged inside, cutting off all the words I wanted to say.
"Lex, he—" Raiden shifted uncomfortably at the way I started, and I crossed my arms around my waist, holding myself. "He—"
"He, what?"
Another dry swallow cut down my throat, and the tears returned. Was it worth it? Of course he was. Lex was a piece of me, in the same way Raiden always had.
"He loves me," I finally said. Raiden blinked slowly as he absorbed my words.
