Page 61 of Rival Hearts

“And I didn’t want you to go to jail.” I sighed. “Choices don’t always lead to the consequences we expect.”

“I’m still in the fucking dark,” Grady muttered, slipping his arm around my waist and securing me to his side.

I met Trent’s gaze for a beat, and he shook his head, almost imperceptible. With a sigh, I eased away from Grady. “I need to talk to Trent.”

Grady’s eyes were filled with indecision. Was he as worried as I was? This truce between us, this new understanding, was fragile, a thin glass that might crack or smash at any moment.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

“Yeah,” I said.

“We should talk about this later.”

Trent shifted his feet by the door and let out a loud sigh. A small smile played at the edges of my mouth, and then I nodded. Grady’s hand trailed along my waist before he walked past Trent to the door.

“I asked for one thing,” Trent muttered.

“It was the one thing I couldn’t give you.” He opened the door and left.

“What was that all about?” I asked.

“My brother’s been trying to get in your pants for weeks. Maybe he already has, what do I know? He’s never going to stay, Maggie. Some offer will come along from somewhere, and he won’t be able to turn it down. He’s not the guy who stays when things get tough. I don’t want you hurt again.”

“I’m not a seventeen-year-old girl anymore.”

“You’ve had a thing for him since then?” He frowned and leaned his hand against the bathroom wall.

“Is that so hard to believe?”

He looked thoughtful for a moment. “Nah, I guess it’s not. You two were always following each other around the house talking about books, and other shit I couldn’t be bothered with. Is that why you were so upset about his song?”

“Mostly, sort of. Grady and I—we—connectedbefore you got arrested.”

“Is that some sort of Urban Dictionary thing? Did Gwyneth Paltrow use that phrase on her stupid-ass website in relation to some guy she hooked up with?” He raised his eyebrows and made air quotes. “Connected? The kind of connected I walked in on?”

I flushed, and he shook his head. “I want to tell him the truth.”

Time stretched between us. “If he made a move on you when he thought you were my girlfriend, he doesn’t deserve to know shit.”

“I wasn’t your girlfriend. We were more like best friends. I shouldn’t have to explain this to you.”

“And that’s why I’m not mad atyou.Hedidn’t know.”

“You’re going to argue principles with me after the lies we were living?”

He stared at me and crossed his arms.

“Why are you really so mad at him? You didn’t even know about us.” A huff of frustration spewed out. I was tired ofkeeping my feelings bottled up. I wanted Grady to know everything, to clear the air. Even while arguing with Trent, my lips tingled from the memory of his kiss.

He wouldn’t meet my gaze. “After our dad died, it was just me and Grady. Mom worked too much trying to keep us all together under one roof. You know that. It’s why I didn’t want her to know. She’d blame herself.” He pressed the heels of his hands into his forehead and sighed. “Me and Grady caused shit, stirred up trouble, got into everything together. And then, I don’t know, even before I got arrested, we’d drifted. I didn’t tell him about the meth. He didn’t tell me about the music.”

“You’re mad at him because the two of you aren’t close?” I said the words slowly, trying to figure out if I was putting the situation together correctly.

“I guess? I don’t fucking know. But I’m angry. I’m really fucking angry at him.”

“He let you down.”

“In ways I didn’t even know or understand.”

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