Page 64 of Rival Hearts

With an unsteady chuckle, Trent nodded. “She did. And we talked. The drinking loosened my lips. Soon enough, I was handing her a crazy scheme. As her pretend boyfriend, she could win all those other shits around.” He grinned. “Or I’d do it forher.” He rammed his fist into his other hand. “I never thought she’d agree to be my real girlfriend. A girl like her? So fucking smart? Her and Emily—smartest girls in that school.” He raised his eyebrows at me.

I wasn’t sure what to say. Was I surprised when Trent brought Maggie home? Yeah. But eventually, she and Trent had seemed so comfortable together I’d never questioned their connection.

“In exchange for my social skills, all she had to do was teach me how to read.” He flung out his hands. “And the rest is history. The first time Maggie came over, we were going to tell you and Mom the truth, or at least how she was helping me with school stuff. But Mom was so excited Maggie was smart and pretty and funny. A girl like her wasmine. I convinced Maggie to keep the secret from everyone.”

“She helped you learn how to read.” I didn’t know how I’d missed that Trent’s reading was so far behind. We’d been very different—still were—so I always figured Trent didn’t like reading, not that he couldn’t.

“I wouldn’t have graduated without her. She taught me how to read, and she helped me with any other subject when I got in trouble.” He sighed and ran a hand along the top of his head. “Including chemistry.”

“You gotta be fucking kidding me. Your meth business?”

“She didn’tknowshe was helping me. I got the other guys working with me to write out the problems we were having like it was some kinda riddle or math problem the teacher gave me or something like that. Then I’d ask her about those things like the question was an assignment or I’d overheard someone else talking about the problem. She’s so fucking smart she’d come up with some answer off the top of her head. Every time I dug myself into a hole that year, she got me out.”

I digested Trent’s revelations in silence. She’d unknowingly helped Trent with his meth operation; she’d knowingly taught him how to read. “She couldn’t get you out of your biggest hole.”

“Her mom was my lawyer for a while. I don’t know if you remember. But then the cops were sniffing around Maggie, trying to drag her into the mess, and her mom backed out. Couldn’t blame her. God, I was so fucking worried I’d put her in danger.”

None of this sounded familiar. Our mother had gone into debt because of a lawyer change. But I’d never thought much about the reason. When I’d gotten famous, I’d given her enough money to pay off all her debts. Had I been so far gone, so far up my own ass I hadn’t realized any of the intricacies of Trent’s case?

“Maggie has been nothing but good to me,” Trent continued. “So, when she asked me to come tonight and tell you the truth, I came.” He gave me a hard stare. “But we’re not square yet, you and me. I don’t know how to feel about what went down between you and her. And I don’t know how we get back to a good place.”

“I would have helped you to read,” I said, my voice thick. “If you’d asked, I would have helped you.”

“Yeah, sure. But you would have teased me. That’s just how it was with us. And then Mom would have found out. I didn’t want her to know. After Dad died, she worked so hard to keep the house and us together. She would have thought she let me down. And I didn’t want her stressing I wouldn’t get that damn piece of paper.” Trent gave a frustrated sigh. “I knew I had a problem, and I never asked her for help. That’s on me.”

“How did you—I don’t understand how you even got to senior year?”

He grinned. “Every girl I was ever withexceptfor Maggie did my homework for me, did my assignments for me, got me through school.”

“And Maggie?” Jealousy stirred again, even though I knew the emotion was irrational. Any mention of her with someone else made me uneasy, even when it was fake.

“Made me do all my own fucking work. Often while she was trying to read some book so she could make you look bad at Sunday dinner.” He laughed and then grinned.

We stared at each other across the room for a few minutes. I wasn’t sure what to do with everything Trent was revealing. I’d gotten the situation so wrong, and my attitude had cost all of us so much. But our misunderstanding had also led me to take a chance on my music career, to find the courage to go after something else I loved. I didn’t regret that part, but I sure as hell regretted the rest.

“I should have told you,” Trent said. “Looking back, it’s clear who Maggie should have been with.”

“We were young, and I was stupid. So fucking stupid. But I definitely had some pretty strong feelings for her. And then, I don’t know, it seemed impossible you’d built the whole meth thing alone.”

“’Cause she was so smart.”

“And you’d never been particularly motivated to doanythingbefore.”

Trent barked out a laugh. “Yeah, I guess. You were out hustling for odd jobs and trying to get Mom extra money, and most of the time I got fired from whatever job I was working.” He stared at me for a moment. “I know I’m not supposed to say this, but I liked running the business. Made me feel smart which made me work harder. Obviously, that didn’t turn out so good for me.”

“How are you doing now?” I eased out of my chair and crossed to the large windows.

“All right. They diagnosed me with severe dyslexia in prison. Bright side, I guess, so I get why I have trouble with reading. I have my apartment. I have the apprenticeship Maggie got me.”He grimaced. “And I wanna figure out how you and I get square with each other.” He rubbed his thighs. “Some text messages, random phone calls when you’ve had a few drinks, and like six letters while I was in prison doesn’t cut it.”

The fact he could count all those things, and I didn’t think it was far off, was proof we’d let things go too far. “I want that, too, but I—” I struggled to find the right words.

“Still got it bad for Maggie?” Trent gave him a wry smile.

I looked up at the ceiling and then met Trent’s gaze. “Basically, yeah.”

“Like she told me, she’s not a kid anymore. If she wants to take a chance on you, that’s up to her. I never had a right to say shit about what she wanted. I just hate the idea of her getting hurt. I think we’ve both done enough of that.”

I sighed and rubbed my hands down my face. “I’ve been such a fucking idiot. I don’t know how either of you could be around me when I came home. So sure of myself, and I didn’t know anything.”

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