AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I clench my jaw, feeling the tears begin to well in my eyes when I raise my chin and decide to give it to him straight. “Do you know why I was at Vixen last night?”
A hardness creeps into his face, but he remains silent, waiting for me to continue. “Because you lied and told me that Izaac didn’t fight for me. I was there trying to prove something to myself, and don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to say that you’re at fault for what happened in that dark room. I was the one who made the decision to go there and behave the way I did. I walked into that room and put myself in a vulnerable position, and that will always be on me, but you’re the one who put it in my head. You planted the seeds that told me that I wasn’t enough, and because of that, I needed to see what he would do.”
“You have no fucking idea how sick it makes me knowing what I said to you,” Austin tells me.
“You practically called me a whore,” I remind him, just in case he might have forgotten. “You were acting as though I laid out naked for him and waved my ass in his face until he broke, and that’s not even a little bit close to what went down. It was—”
“Woah,” he says, cutting me off. “Spare me the details. It’s bad enough knowing it happened, let alone having a visual of it in my head.”
I cringe. “Sorry,” I say. “But just know that neither of us purposefully set out to hurt you. It just . . . happened.”
Austin holds up his hand, the conversation wavering too close to sex for him to be able to continue down that path. “Just . . . stop,” he begs. “I can’t hear about how you two just happened. Maybe one day I’ll be able to stomach the idea of it, but not yet.”
“Noted,” I say with a nod.
Austin holds my gaze for a moment, heaviness lingering between us. “Look, about what I said at my place,” he starts, resignation thick in his tone. “Surely you know that I don’t think that at all. I know I’m overprotective and tend to lose my shit whenever I hear that you’re dating someone, but surely you know that I don’t really think that. There’s just something about the idea of you and Izaac together that makes my skin crawl, and after this insane crush you’ve had on him all your life, it was just the easiest way to strike back.”
I nod and step toward him. “You know him, Austin. You know he’s a good man with morals and a kind heart. I know you’ve always wanted someone for me who would protect me in the same way that you do, but open your eyes. He’s always been that guy,” I murmur, sparing a glance toward the incredible man in question and melting at the way he stares back at me, a softness in his eyes that I’ve always loved. “When I was hiding in the bushes and you were out of town, he didn’t hesitate to come for me, and it’s been that way since we were kids. Why wouldn’t you want that for me?”
Austin presses his hands to his temples and starts to pace across my small living room. “Of course I want that for you,” he finally says. “It’s just . . . it’s a hard pill to swallow.”
“I know.”
He pauses, looking back at me with that same hurt in his eyes. “You’re really moving in with him?”
I shrug my shoulders, knowing this is moving fast, even by normal relationship standards. “Apparently, I’m a hazard to myself and need constant babysitting to be safe.”
Austin rolls his eyes. “Well, I could have told you that.”
I press my lips into a tight line. “You’re still mad.”
“I’m going to be mad for a while,” he admits. “It’ll take a minute for me to get used to this, and I can’t guarantee that every time I see the two of you together, it’s not going to make me want to knock the bastard out, but you’re my sister, and despite everything I’ve said and the way I’ve acted, you’re my favorite person in the world, and if this is what truly makes you happy, then I want that for you.”
I feel the first ray of hope blossoming in my chest, quickly spreading through my body and wiping out the darkness as though it were never there. “Really?” I ask, distantly aware of the way Izaac gets to his feet.
“Yeah, really,” Austin confirms. “Just don’t go flaunting it in front of me, and we’ll be good.”
I throw myself at my brother, my arms locking so damn tight around him. I’m almost positive I’m strangling him, but instead of complaining or pushing me away like he usually does, he wraps me in his arms and holds on just as tight. “You forgive me?” he murmurs in my ear.
“Depends. Are you going to stand here and pretend like I’m the only one who’s been going behind the other’s back and falling in love with their best friend?”
Austin stiffens and pulls back, his eyes wide with alarm. “You, uhhh . . . know about all of that, huh?”
“Of course, I do. You’re hardly discreet, and Becs has a big mouth. She tells me everything.”
“Shit,” he grunts as Izaac moves in at my side, and I don’t miss the way Austin tracks his every step, but thankfully Izaac is smart enough to keep his hands off me. “Are you okay with it? You don’t hate me?”
“There’s a lot of things I want to hate you for right now, but that’s not one of them. You’re perfect together, and if anyone is going to drive you insane and make you suffer for the bullshit you’ve thrown at us, it’s Becs.”
Austin grips the back of his neck and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, she kinda has been.”
Pride booms in my chest. I knew Becs would have my back with this.
I grin wide, but it quickly fades away when I look between the boys. “And as for you two?” I ask, nerves slicing through my veins like a million tiny razors. “Are things going to be okay here?”
“He’s said what he needed to say,” Austin informs me, sparing a cautious glance at Izaac. “And despite everything, he’s still my best friend. Assuming he’s down to forgive me too.”
Izaac scoffs. “Depends. Are you going to help me move all her shit into my place? I can’t do it on my own.”
