Page 22 of Boards & Betrayal

"My dad walked out on me," I interrupted, my voice trembling. "For someone else. For another family. A long time ago, sure, but still. He never... I didn't want to be a reason..."

"What happened with me and Nick happened before you, sweetheart," he said, his tone softening.

"He doesn't see it that way," I countered.

"I could give two flying fucks," he snapped. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "I tried to make it work with him. I did. I'm only glad I didn't have another kid. I can't imagine life with two."

I flinched as if he'd slapped me. "So, you'd never have kids again?"

Thomas looked at me. "Have you seen me?" He gestured at himself. "I'm not father of the year. Nick won't even talk to me. His mother doesn't fucking help. And honestly? I'm tired of fighting. I just... I don't want to fight anymore."

His words hung in the air like a heavy cloud, suffocating and oppressive. The raw honesty in his voice cut through me, leaving me feeling exposed and vulnerable.

"Tom..." My voice broke as I tried to find the right words.

He shook his head, a bitter smile playing on his lips. "I'm not asking for your pity, Ally. Just... be honest with me."

I swallowed hard, feeling the weight of everything unsaid between us pressing down on my chest.

"I left because I didn't know how to handle everything," I admitted, my voice barely above a whisper. "Nick and I were over. But I still felt guilty, like I was doing something wrong. Like I was betraying him. And if I felt that way, I could only imagine what you felt."

His eyes softened at my admission, the anger dissipating like mist under the sun.

I closed my eyes for a moment, letting his touch ground me.

"I just wanted to protect myself," I whispered. "And you. And him. I didn't want… I wanted you to try to fix things."

"And you think leaving was the answer?" he asked softly.

I opened my eyes and met his gaze. "I don't know," I admitted. "But it was all I could do at the time. I didn't think I would help anything."

Thomas sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair again.

Thomas towered over me, his presence almost overwhelming. I had to lean back to look up at him, the distance between us shrinking by the second.

“Ally,” he whispered, his voice carrying a mixture of urgency and something deeper, something I couldn’t quite name. “You don’t understand…”

His hand cupped my cheek, and I felt his thumb gently trace my bottom lip. The touch sent a jolt through me, my heart skipping a beat. He was close enough to kiss me. I told myself I didn’t want that—I didn’t—but if he did; I wasn’t sure I could pull away.

“Talk to me,” he said, his voice a low murmur that vibrated through my chest. “What does he have over you?”

His words were like a douse of cold water. Reality crashed back in. I shouldn’t be this close to him. Not when Nick could walk in at any moment. Not when he could see us together.

I let out a shaky breath and pulled away. This time, Thomas let me go.

“I have to go,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.

“I can help you,” he insisted, his eyes filled with earnest determination. “Ally, I want to.”

I shook my head, taking another step back to create some much-needed distance between us. “It’s not that simple,” I whispered.

Thomas took a step forward, closing the gap again, but not touching me this time. “Let me try,” he urged softly.

I looked up at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes, but the weight of everything unsaid hung heavily between us.

“You can’t fix this,” I said, feeling the sting of tears threatening to spill over. “Some things can’t be fixed.”

He frowned but didn’t push further. Instead, he just stood there, looking at me as if searching for some way to reach me through the walls I’d built.

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