Page 92 of Fall Apart

“What do you mean?” I grumble, already tired from the long day and not in the mood for a game, even if I’m enjoying my unexpected night with my sister.

“You’re like really slow at picking up on this. What part of let go and accept you’re not in control did you not get?” She teases, patting my cheek.

I throw my head back and groan. “I already hate this.”

She laughs and heads into the bedroom, stopping a step inside the door. “Holy shit. Lizzyreallymoved in.”

I look around the room over her shoulder, a warm feeling growing in my chest when I see her pink pile of pillows and the room surprisingly clean.

“Yeah, you could say that.”

She looks at the pile of pillows, shaking her head and laughing. “Did she bring all of those?”

“No, I got those for her right after she agreed to stay over.”

My sister turns and looks back at me, a wide, shit eating grin plastered on. “You definitely love her.”

Yes. Yes, I do.

CHAPTER 39

LIZZY

I DON’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU

I wakeup with a sinking feeling settling over me when I realize I’m back in my condo. It’s familiar, a place I’ve woken up in so many times. But it doesn’t feel right waking up here and not in Clay’s arms. Did I do the right thing? Should I have stayed with him? My eyes adjust to the light and I see a cup on the nightstand, a nitro cold brew from Finch.

I bury my face into a pillow and groan. “Please go away. I don’t want to talk to you right now. I told you, I need space. This isn’t something you can fix.”

“But it is something I can fix.” A woman’s voice, not Clay’s immediately jolts me up. I look over to see Kayleigh, sitting in the corner chair of the bedroom.

I look at her in disbelief. Of all the people I would have expected to see right now, much less wanted to, she wouldn’t be at the top of the list.

“What do you mean?” I say, my voice shaky and groggy, half from irritation, half from being half asleep.

“I know you may have doubts, but we’re just friends. That’s it. Youcantrust him.”

The thing is, I do trust him. Everything in my heart says I can, but my mind doesn’t want to believe it. “I saw you two. He loves you.”

She sighs and drops her head and rubs her temples. “It’s not like that. But you’re right. He does love me and I love him, but only as friends.”

My heart sinks at that admission. I knew what I saw, the connection between them. But only as friends? “Why did you need tosee him right then, right in that moment?” I ask, desperately wanting to know what Clay wouldn’t tell me last night.

“I’ve been going through some relationship drama. It finally ended. Charlie broke up with me yesterday. I just needed to talk to him.”

“You realize that doesn’t exactly make me feel better. That the first person you rush to when your boyfriend dumps you is the man I’m madly in love with, right?”

“Lizzy.” She closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. “Sheended it.Shebroke up with me.” She looks up, her eyes meeting mine and I see the pain there. Charlie. Shit. I just assumed. But my family even calls my own sisterCharliesometimes. Suddenly, so much more makes sense.

“Kayleigh. I… I didn’t know.” I’ve heard about her for years. She’s a public figure, featured in global ad campaigns and on posters at almost every ski resort in the country. “How-”

She wipes a tear from her cheek before cutting me off. “No one knows except for Clay and Grace. I finally realized it right when I was eighteen, almost nineteen. It was right around when Clay was recovering from his first injury, right around when he lost his mom.”

I feel a tear welling in the corner of my eyes when she continues. “I never told anyone else. Not my family, not my coaches or trainers. No one. Growing up in Utah, in a very public family, I didn’t want anyone to know, except for Clay.”

My thoughts drift to Clay being worried if I scrolled up when I read her messages last night. Even in that moment, he was protecting her, worried for her.

“We were always so close and we were both such a mess then, it just felt natural to tell him. We leaned on each other so hard. Eventually, I told Grace too. The long distance thing worked for so long, but I guess Charlie and I just grew apart. Clay knew - he wasthe only person I could talk to and not keep it bottled up when it ended.”

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