Page 40 of Reclaimed Roots

"Fuck!" Liam's face contorted with anger and hurt.

"It's not what you think. Chase, he kissed me. I didn't want him to. I stopped him."

Liam's fists clenched at his sides. "Your neighbor? I'll fucking kill him."

"Get in line," I muttered, thinking of Jasper's reaction.

"Seriously, who just goes around kissing people without their permission?"

"Do you always ask my permission?"

"Well, no, but—" He inhaled slowly and then breathed out, visibly trying to calm himself. "Okay, what is going on? I'm so fucking confused."

Join the club. "Jasper, Chase's brother?—"

"I know who he is," Liam interjected, his tone clipped.

"Right. Well, Jasper and I dated." The words felt strange on my tongue, inadequate to describe the depth of what Jasper and I shared.

Liam's brow furrowed. "I didn't know that."

I fidgeted with the hem of my shirt, avoiding his gaze. "I didn't tell you. I've never really told anyone outside of Sable Point."

"Why not?"

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to look at him again. "It was too painful, I guess. We'd been friends our whole lives. We were each other's first everything. The summer after we graduated high school, we... broke up. I left for Chicago the next day, and I hadn't been back since."

Liam blinked. "Shit. No wonder that dude looked like he wanted to kill me. Jesus, Nat. You should've told me."

"I know, I'm sorry. Being back here, though, it's made me realize that I never really dealt with how things ended. Never got the closure I needed."

"So what does that mean for us?"

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes. "I'm not sure there should be an 'us.'"

His throat bobbed convulsively, then he stared blankly at the floor. "I guess I should've seen this coming," he said quietly. "The way you've been distant lately. Avoiding my calls and messages. I guess I just hoped it was about your grief more than anything."

"I'm sorry. You're a great guy, Liam. You've been nothing but good to me.

He nodded, jaw tight. "I appreciate your honesty, even if it's not what I wanted to hear." He blew out a breath, running a hand through his sleep-mussed hair. "You've never really been all in, have you? There was always a part of you holding back, like you were waiting for something else. Or someone else, I guess."

His words gripped me by the heart and twisted. He was right. I'd been using him as a placeholder, a distraction from the gaping Jasper-shaped hole in my life. It wasn't fair to either of us.

"I'm sorry," I said again, knowing full well how inadequate those words were. "You deserve so much better than I can give you."

He was silent for a long moment, his gaze distant. Then with a small, sad smile, he reached over to squeeze my shoulder. "I hope he makes you happy, Nat. I really do."

With that, he rose from the couch and gathered his overnight bag from the floor. I wanted to protest, to tell him Jasper washed his hands of me years ago. But I couldn't bear to speak the words, half afraid they might be the honest-to-god truth and half afraid I'd give Liam undue hope.

I walked him to the door, a lump the size of a fist lodged in my throat.We embraced stiffly before he headed out to his car.

As I watched him go, a strange mix of sadness and relief washed over me. Relief that I was no longer living a lie. Relief that I was finally being honest with myself, even if the truth was messy and complicated.

Sighing, I closed the front door and leaned my forehead against the solid wood. I took a moment just to breathe, to center myself in the quiet stillness of the house.

My moment of reflection was eventually broken by the back door opening and falling shut.

"Natalie? You home?" Mom's voice floated in from the kitchen. I pushed off the door and headed toward the sound, suddenly craving her comforting presence.

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