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“What . . .” My brows furrow, a deep confusion fogging my brain. Surely she would have told me if something more happened between them, right? Even if Austin was speaking to me, he would have kept this from me, but I never thought she would. “What are you doing here?”
“Don’t worry. I wasn’t trying to get in your brother’s pants again,” she says before I get a chance to overthink it too much. “It just hurts me seeing how broken and sad you’ve been over the last two weeks, and I thought maybe if I could be a voice of reason, I could get through to him and help close that gap between you.”
“And?” I say, a little too hopeful.
She cringes, and all that hope plummets to the ground, exploding into a million fiery pieces. “I don’t think he’s ready to even think about it, let alone begin to accept it,” she says before stepping into me and wrapping me in a warm hug. “I have to go, but I’m going to accidentally leave the door open, and if you decide to go in there and try your luck, then that’s your prerogative, but just so you know, I don’t think it’s going to be pretty.”
“Thanks,” I say with a heavy sigh as she pulls away.
“Call me if you need to have another wine night. We can get drunk and talk shit about these damn boys,” she says, and with that, she steps off Austin’s porch, leaving the door open just as she said.
I stare down the open door, nerves bubbling deep in my stomach.
Well, here goes nothing.
Stepping over the threshold, I welcome myself into Austin’s home and silently pad through the house until I find him sitting in his living room, his foot propped up against the coffee table and looking sorry for himself. Then hearing me as I walk into the room, he lets out a frustrated sigh and gets to his feet. “I told you, I didn’t want to—”
Austin cuts himself off as his gaze finally snaps up, realizing it’s me and not Becs walking back in. “The fuck do you think you’re doing?” he snaps, storming around the couch and fixing a heated glare on me. “I thought I made it pretty fucking clear that I didn’t want to see you.”
“Yeah, well, you punched me right in the middle of my face, so the least you can do is stop being such an asshole and give me at least two minutes of your time,” I throw back at him, closing the distance between us.
His gaze flickers to the yellowing bruise across my cheek, and the flicker of guilt in his eyes tells me that I might still have a chance to make this okay. Only, it’s gone just as quickly as it came. “I don’t owe you shit,” he tells me. “I’m sorry I clocked you in the face, but it doesn’t change anything. You’re fucking my best friend. You betrayed my trust and went behind my back.”
“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “It just . . . kinda happened. I didn’t mean—”
“What?” He scoffs. “You didn’t mean to spread your legs and invite him in? The fuck is wrong with you, Aspen? Do you hear yourself? Look at it from my perspective. You’ve practically thrown yourself at him your whole fucking life, and now that you’re not a kid anymore, you figured you’d wave your ass in his face and wait for him to take the fucking bait.”
“That’s not—”
“Don’t even try to justify it. He’s taking advantage of you, Aspen. How could you be so fucking stupid not to see that? He’s getting laid while you’re living it up, thinking that after all this time he’s finally going to love you? Reality check. He’s not,” Austin roars, every word stabbing me right through the heart and rendering me speechless. “This is Izaac Banks we’re talking about. How fucking long have you known him? Have you ever seen him care about a woman? Fuck no. He’s not capable, which is why I never wanted you anywhere near the bastard in the first place.”
“That’s not fair. I’ve loved him all my life.”
“I don’t give a shit, Aspen, because what it comes down to is that he’s never going to love you in return. What aren’t you understanding? He’s not capable of it. He doesn’t know how to love a woman, and you’re sure as hell not going to be the one to make him see the light. So congratulations. All you’ve done is destroy a lifelong friendship because you couldn’t keep your fucking legs closed.”
My hand snaps out, rocking across his face and leaving my palm stinging. “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t I?” he scoffs, clenching his jaw. “Then enlighten me. If he really fucking loves you, then where is he? Because I sure as fuck don’t see him here breaking down my door in order to fight for you.”
Horror blasts through me, and I stumble back a step, truly hearing what he’s saying. Izaac hasn’t tried to fight for me. “No,” I say, shaking my head. “He loves me. I know what I felt.”
“Right,” Austin grunts, looking at me as though I were nothing but a piece of filth beneath his shoe. “You’ve had some fucked-up infatuation with him for twelve years, but you don’t really know him, not like I do, and you, you don’t mean shit to him. You’re an easy fuck, just like every other woman who’s ever thrown themselves at him. It’s embarrassing. So, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to end whatever the fuck you’re doing with him, and you’re never going to see him again. After that, then maybe we’ll talk. Until then, get the fuck out. I’ve got nothing to say to you.”
I crumble, dropping to the ground as every part of me shatters, blackening the already broken fragments of my soul. Tears spring from my eyes, rolling down my cheeks as a heavy lump forms in the center of my throat, making it almost impossible to breathe.
How could he be so cruel?
I’m an embarrassment. He’s never going to love me. He’s not here fighting for me.
Austin is right.
And I’m nothing more than a fool. All I’ve done is set myself up to be pushed away. I knew that was a possibility,but I felt it. That connection between us was real. I couldn’t have imagined it. And when he kissed me in his spare room and took me to his bed . . . That meant something. I know it did.
But if Izaac truly felt something real for me, then surely he would have been here, doing everything he could to try and make this right, to fight for Austin’s approval. So where the hell is he?
Devastation grips hold of me until I’m nothing but a crumbled mess on Austin’s floor, and then without even a glance back, my brother walks away, leaving me to wallow in my self-pity and heartbreak.
Almost twenty minutes go by before I find the strength to finally pull myself to my feet. I haven’t heard from or seen Austin since the second he walked away, all I know is that he’s right. I have to end it with Izaac. I’ve imagined it all inside my head.
