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“Lo, Zeus isn’t exactly stealthy with the way he looks at you. He stares at you like you’re his to keep.”My little Thea.
“But why are you telling me this, Mads?” I get loud, begging her to say what she means.
“I can tell you have feelings for him… I just—I wanted you to know the truth.”
“So, are you asking me to back off? Is that it? Is that what you want?” I demand.
Her silence is deafening.
Is this really happening?
We sit there for several moments, letting the weight of the situation fill the air. My sister hugs me, then leaves without another word. I collapse onto my bed. The scent of Wes’s cologne hits my nose and I let out a sad whimper, wallowing at the thought that I might never again feel his delicious body above mine. I will no longer hear him whispermy little Theainto my ear as he lays a gentle kiss on the sensitive skin of my neck.This is so fucked up.
Do I have any choice here? Do I do the selfish thing and continue being with Wes, knowing it will destroy my sister? Or do I back off knowing it will keep everyone’s relationships safe? I certainly don’t want to be the one to rip apart our families. My heart and soul are shattering. I wrap myself up in blankets, trying to hold it all together, deep down knowing what I have to do.
* * *
Wes
With a scowl on my face, I watch as Taylor walks his busted nose to the car, hoping he knows he better not show his face around here ever again.
Eli surprises the hell out of me when he suddenly shoves me in the chest. “So, you going to tell me why you really hit him or you going to keep lying to my fucking face?” He shakes his head hard and storms to the other side of the yard.
Following him, I throw my hands up and say, “What the fuck is your problem? You’re the one who threw his ass out.”
“Of course, I did. He was disrespecting my baby sister and my best friend didn’t want him here. But that same best friend is disrespecting me by thinking I’m the biggest dumbass on the planet.” He pauses, giving me an opportunity to speak. I knew he would have questions after Taylor’s comments, but his hostility has me thinking through my response.
“Zeus, do you really think I haven’t seen the way you’ve looked at Sloan all summer? The way you’ve had your hands on her any chance you got… whether it was innocent or not.”
Wiping my palms over my face, knowing this conversation needs to happen, I get right to the point.
“Look E, I—I love her.” His eyes widen but I quickly continue, “I know it seems crazy but dude you know how amazing she is, I can’t help it even if I tried… and to be honest, I haven’t tried very hard. I knew you would be mad, but I didn’t think you would be this upset about it.”
“Would it have mattered?” he retorts back a little more calmly.
“Truthfully, I don’t think so. I tried to fight it at first because I was scared of how you would feel about it, but… this summer there was just no denying what’s between us.”
Running my fingers through my still-wet hair, I continue, “I love you like a brother, but unless you can give me a good reason as to why I’m not good enough for her—then no, it wouldn’t have mattered.”
He looks me dead in the eyes for what feels like forever but says, “Good answer… fuck Wes. That’s all I wanted was the damn truth.” Relief washes over me, but he continues, “I know you have big moves coming up, but if you’re going to do this, then you better make my sister a priority.”
“What are you saying?”
“I’m saying… it was never about me not approving of you. It was me hating the fact my best friend was hiding shit from me,” he says, leveling me with one of his lethal stares.
“We were going to tell you, but we’re still figuring out what our future looks like. We haven’t slept together yet, were taking it—”
“I don’t want to know the details… Please spare me. For now, it sounds like you need to go talk to Sloan,” he says, stepping back so I can walk towards the house.
I take a few steps before turning back towards him. “I’m sorry it went down like this today. I really did plan to tell you.” He nods his head, letting me know he believes me.
“We good?”
“Yeah brother, we are. Just don’t do anything that will cause us not to be,” Eli says bluntly, and I wouldn’t expect any less from him.
I nod my head, understanding his unspoken words.
Heading into the house, I feel excitement coursing through my body at the thought of talking to her about us making this work long distance. I’ll be making my own money so I can fly to her when I get breaks in between jobs. I can even tell my agent the dates I need extended time off and make sure it matches up with her college breaks. We can make this work… She is worth it.The fact that I’m increasingly becoming less and less excited about this modeling opportunity in California goes to show what really brings me happiness in life. Sloan. Barton.
