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When I put it that way, it’s an easy choice. I’ve hated Dalton basically my entire life. How can I go against my family’s wishes for someone that I like now, but I have no clue if it will be forever? Family is though. Trust is. Honesty is.
I close my eyes and do the one thing I don’t want to do, but I must. I hit Send.
I’m sorry, but we need to put a stop to this.
Then, I turn off my phone, not wanting to see his response because I know I’ll cave and change my mind. My heart is broken, but I need to accept this and move on. We can’t be together. We’ll never be able to make this real. I’m sure his father wouldn’t accept me the same way.
I’ve lived this long without him. I just need to remember what life was like when I hated him and go back to that.
Knowing there’s always things I can do at the school FFA, I yell to my mom, “I’m heading to FFA for a little bit,” then head out the door toward my brother’s truck. Technically, it’s supposed to be both of ours that we share, but since he’s turned sixteen, I allow him to drive it all the time since I can normally grab a ride with Ashley or Susie anywhere I need to go.
The truck roars to life, and I peel out on the gravel road in front of our house before he can stop me.
The school is empty, but I know the code to getback to the FFA area, so I hop out of the truck, enter the code, then get back in as I wait for the gate to open so I can drive back there.
I get right to work on cleaning up and getting lost in the music that I have playing through a laptop we have sitting in the main area. I left my phone at home so I wouldn’t be tempted to check Dalton’s response, so I’m thankful the laptop is here, or I’d be lost in my head for sure.
I’ve completely lost track of time when I hear someone open the gate behind me and see my dad’s truck driving through. My breath hitches when I see my dad and my brother staring back at me.
My brother hops out of the truck, and to my surprise, my dad puts the truck in reverse and leaves.
“What the fuck, Natalie?” Thomas says when he knows Dad’s out of hearing range and it’s just the two of us. “You can’t just take my truck. Dad had to take me to pick up a school project that I needed to work on tonight. Your phone is off, so we couldn’t get ahold of you.”
I’m so not in the mood to put up with him, so I have no problem barking back. “First, it isourtruck, and you’re lucky I’ve always let you use it and not made you share with me, and, two, I left my phone at home on purpose all because ofyou,” I spit out.
“Why would you leave your phone at home because of me?” he asks, dumbfounded.
“Don’t act so smug. I broke it off with Dalton. Are you happy? That’s why I left my phone at home and why I’m here.”
He smirks as he crosses his arms over his chest. “Yeah, actually, I am. You shouldn’t have even been talking to that guy, let alone dating him.”
“You don’t even know him!” I yell.
“And neither should you!” he yells right back. “Our entire life, we’ve been told how they are the enemy, the sole reason why our family’s ranch is struggling. How could you do that to Dad?”
“I know, but that’s not Dalton. Dalton has nothing to do with that. It was his dad. That’s not fair that we should hate him for things that happened before he was even born.”
Thomas shakes his head with a smug expression. “Doesn’t matter. Guilty by association is still guilty.”
I huff and get back to work. Obviously, there’s no point in arguing with him, as he’ll never change his mind, which is exactly why I had to break it off with Dalton.
“Come on. Get in the truck.”
“No.” I get back to what I was doing before he got here.
He grabs the rake from me. “Dad said you have to come home, so get your ass in the truck, or I will tell him why you’re really here.”
I clench my teeth and grab the rake back from him, putting it back where it belongs before heading to the truck with a huff.
Thankfully, he keeps his mouth shut during the drive home and blasts his music, like normal. When we pull up to the house, I head straight to my room and shut my door, not wanting to talk to anyone else for the rest of the night.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Natalie
I didn’t get a lick of sleep. The thought of having to sit in front of Dalton in class was making my anxiety sky high. I still haven’t turned on my phone from last night. Not knowing what he might have texted back is killing me, but I really don’t think I’ll be able to handle anything that he said.
To say I’m a mess is the understatement of a lifetime.
