Page 68 of Boards & Betrayal

"Fuck no," I said flatly. "You know I can't do that."

Her lips pressed into a thin line. "If you can't promise to control yourself, then I won't tell you."

"What?" The word came out harsher than I intended.

"I'm being serious, Tom," she insisted. "I won't have you run off because you're reacting and do something stupid that'll get you in jail again, especially since you just won a prestigious award and your contract with Crestwood is up at the end of May."

"Who the fuck told you that?" My voice rose, frustration boiling over.

Ally looked away, her gaze drifting to the floor. "I hear things."

"Kara Paige needs to mind her fucking business," I groused.

"She's my friend, you know," Ally said, meeting my eyes with a defiant spark. "And a journalist. She finds things out. So, no. If you can't promise me that, I won't tell you anything."

I clenched my teeth so hard it hurt. My fists balled at my sides, every muscle in my body tense. Then what? How could she just shut me out like this? Didn’t she see how much I needed to know?

"Then what?" The words felt like gravel in my throat.

Ally sucked in a breath, steadying herself. "Then I think it's time for you to go."

Her words hung in the air between us like a death sentence. My chest tightened as the realization sank in—she was serious.

"Ally," I started, but she shook her head.

"I mean it," she said softly but firmly. "If you can't control yourself, then there's no point in talking."

The room felt smaller suddenly, closing in on me with every breath. How could she expect me to stay calm when she was hiding something so important? But looking into her eyes, seeing the resolve there, I knew she wasn’t backing down.

My jaw tightened as I tried to swallow my anger. "Fine," I finally ground out. "I'll go."

Without another word, I turned and walked toward the bedroom.

I pulled on my shirt, the fabric rough against my skin. Each motion felt like a chore, every button a tiny defiance against the overwhelming urge to turn back to her, to make her see reason. But I knew better; pushing now would only drive her further away.

Grabbing my keys from the nightstand, I let out a heavy sigh. The metallic jingle sounded hollow in the quiet room. I glanced around one last time, taking in the scattered clothes and the unmade bed that still smelled like lavender and her.

I reached the door, hesitating as I turned the handle. Her lips were pressed into a tight line, but it was her eyes that absolutely gutted me. Tears welled up in them, threatening to spill over.

"Ally," I tried again, my voice cracking under the weight of everything left unsaid.

"I'm doing this for you," she said softly, her voice filled with a kind of desperate determination. "Can't you see that?"

"No," I replied, shaking my head. "No, I fucking can't. Because you won't let me help you." I sighed deeply, running a hand through my hair. "Fuck, Ally, I would rip my heart out of my chest and hand it to you. Because it's yours. It always has been. And I know it's fucking… I don't even know. Wrong? Fucking nothing I could have ever expected. But it's the goddamn truth. I'm a mess without you, a fucking mess. I already told you I'd marry you. And it absolutely fucking kills me that even after all that, you won't trust me. I know your dad left you and your mom, but I won't. I won't ever fucking leave you. You're it for me. Don't you see that?"

Her eyes filled with more tears as she bit down on her lower lip. "I won't let you ruin your life for me," she whispered. "Not when you almost did back in November. Not when…" Her voice trailed off, catching in her throat.

It took everything in me not to pull her into my arms right then and there. My heart was breaking—shattering into a million pieces—and there was nothing I could do about it.

So, I left.

The second I closed the door behind me, I heard Ally break down inside. Her sobs echoed through the hallway, piercing through me like knives. It killed me even more than leaving her did.

And as I walked away, each step felt heavier than the last, knowing that the woman I loved was falling apart on the otherside of that door and there wasn't a damn thing I could do about it.

Chapter 21

Ally

---