Page 10 of Willow Vale

It was never the right time for us. I was sure my crush had been one sided when we were in high school, since he’d gone out with a few girls. He was also three years older than me, and I was this scrawny, complicated girl who was always too busy chasing her mother around town to even think about dating anyone.

Until the summer we both came back to Willow Vale.

Then everything changed.

We changed.

That summer had been the best one I’d ever had. Without worrying about Irene, I simplylivedfor myself. She’d been trying to stay sober for a while and I thought she’d really be able to beat her addiction once and for all. But just like the illusion I’d built up in my head about being happy with Travis, my mother also crushed any hope I had that she’d get better. And just like that, my best summer turned into an absolute nightmare.

Before I could say something stupid like beg him not to fire me, he beat me to it.

“How’s River?”

I blinked up at him, surprised by his question.

“He’s good. Thanks for asking.”

He shifted his gaze my way, no longer scowling as he genuinely asked, “He must be four years old, right? Turning five in January?”

I blinked again.

“You know when his birthday is?”

“He’s your kid, how can I not? That, and Desi always makes it a big deal when she comes in after his birthday parties, showing us pictures she took like a proud aunt.” He sounded casual about it, but there was nothing casual aboutthe way he clearly knew about River. Pushing aside the fact that Desi talked about River to him, I couldn’t help but latch onto two words he’d said.

My kid.

I never hid the fact that I was River’s sister from anyone. It was hard to claim I was his mother when Irene was seen all over town with a belly for nine months. But I did take care of him as if he were my kid. I never wanted to put that label on myself, though; not wanting someone to accidentally mention Irene to River and confuse him.

Still, I loved him like he was mine.

“I just didn’t think you’d care all that much about him. You don’t know him,” I said earnestly.

Any tenderness on his face immediately evaporated at my words.

Travis ran a hand over the scruff on his sharp jawline with a scoff, muttering something I couldn’t quite make out. Not when the movement drew my eyes to the veins on his hand and the long fingers that rubbed his cheek, bringing my attention to the small scar on his top lip.

My cheeks flushed when the distant memory of his lips on mine struck suddenly. The way he’d held me the first night we?—

“What?” I breathed out, startled by my own wandering thoughts.

“I said, whose fault is that?” Travis’s voice took on a rougher cadence, his hard stare told me he’d noticed exactly what I’d been staring at. God, what was wrong with me?

I straightened. “E-excuse me?”

“You heard me.” His blue eyes appeared to grow darker as he walked toward me. I stumbled back a step until my back touched the wall behind me. Still, Travis kept closing the distance between us. “You think that just because you cut meout of your life that I’d suddenly forget all about you? That I’d stop caring about you or wondering how you’re managing to raise a kid on your own?”

He stopped only when he was practically looming over me, his left hand landing on the wall right next to my head. My heart started thundering in my chest. Every inch of my skin was invaded by goose bumps, and he noticed as his eyes raked over my chest and arms. I wore a simple V-neck t-shirt, worn jeans and Chucks. But the way Travis took his time watching me, as if I were a fine piece of art, made it seem as if I were wearing nothing at all.

Travis always had this innate gift to make me feel utterly exposed. Vulnerable. And if there was one thing about me, it was that Ihatedbeing vulnerable. It was why I always ran away, trying to put distance between me and anyone who could get too close. For some reason though, Travis was always able to squeeze past the walls I built up around me. Coaxing me to trust him.

To let him in.

As if he knew me inside and out. Saw all the parts of myself I thought I’d hidden well from the world. All my shameful secrets, the things I went through with Irene that I never told anyone. All the guilt I carried with me. All the responsibilities that left me exhausted, ready to break at any moment.

I never got used to how he made me feel, and I didn’t want to start now.

If I was honest with myself, feeling so seen by someone—byhim—had also been another reason for me ending things between us. He’d seen too much over the years, all the ugly parts I struggled so hard for so long to hide. Especially from him. But no one had ever chosen me before. Not Irene or even my grandfather when he had to step in and take care of me. And yet, Travis hadchosen me from that day all those years ago when I was a scared, lonely kid sitting under a willow tree and he’d trudged right up to me with a scowl on his face just to ask me what my name was.

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