Page 70 of Salty, Spiced, and a Little Bit Nice

“Eric said that?” I squished my eyebrows together. “And you believed him? That was enough to convince you?”

Alec tilted his head. “You remember that guy who used to follow you around in high school? Scott something or other?” When I nodded, he went on, “Do you remember that he suddenly left school? Have you ever wondered what happened to him?”

I could feel my eyebrows drawing together. “Did my family get rid of him?”

He gave a solemn nod. “Eric thinks your parents used their influence to bankrupt Scott’s family and sent them packing to another state.”

“I never knew that.” I groaned.

“So that night, when you said you liked me, I panicked. I didn’t want the same thing to happen to my family that happened to Scott’s. I figured if I said enough hurtful things, you’d be upset and stay away from me.”

Well, it worked, because I not only stayed away from him, but had also spent the past ten years hating him with every fiber of my being.

“But what did you mean, because of your dad? Because he left your family?”

“More than that.” He stared at his burger. “He left us for another woman. It had been going on for a while, and when my mom found out, she kicked him out of the house.”

My heart broke for his mother, for Alec, and his siblings. “That must have been horrible for you. I’m so sorry. But that shouldn’t make your family… unsuitable.”

“No, but it wasn’t good enough for the well-respected Pang family, right?” His laugh was bitter. “That’s not all. Dad even had another family with that other woman. While he was still married to my mother.”

I gaped at him. “What?”

“He had two sons, who’d probably be in their teens now.” Alec rubbed the back of his neck, not meeting my gaze. “Anyway, don’t know if you remember, but I used to date this girl, Anna, first year of college.”

Of course I remembered. I’d envied Anna with every fiber of my being.

“From the first minute of our first date, I knew it would never work out. Because I kept comparing her to you. And all the girls, too. I’d be thinking of what you’d say, or do, imagining you were with me instead of them.”

My breath left me in a whoosh, and that brass band had morphed into the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.

“But a part of me kept thinking that your parents were right. I was convinced that I wasn’t good enough for you, that you deserve someone better than me.” He finally glanced at me. “Especially after I found out about my dad’s affair. His second family. What if one of these days, I turn out just like him? Someone who turned his back on his family, on the people that he was supposed to love and care for?”

“Don’t listen to them.” My heart broke for him, while raging at my family. “You’re not your dad. The fact that you put your family first and worked to help your mother raise your sisters, that’s enough proof that you’re nothing like him.”

“I know, but I’m still his son.” His laugh was dry. “And I’ve done it once, Ellie. That night when you had your extreme hypo. I could’ve stopped those douchebags from making you drink that much, but I didn’t. I turned my back on you, and I’ve always felt guilty about it. You could’ve died, and to think that I did nothing to protect you…”

I didn’t know what to say, knowing that he’d been living with his guilt all this time. Then another thought nagged at me. Was that why he’d been doing all those thoughtful things for me? Not because he was starting to care for me, but because he was trying to atone for his guilt?

“I did blame you,” I said. “For the longest time. But I knew that it wasn’t your fault. I was trying to impress you, so I was the one to blame.”

Alec shook his head. “But if I hadn’t said those hurtful words to you first, you wouldn’t have tried to impress me.”

“It was my decision to have those beers, so it was on me.”

“And I should’ve stopped you, but I didn’t.”

I threw my hands up in the air. “Okay, let’s split the blame. What happened that night was half your fault, and half mine. Sounds good?”

“But what about those jerks that taunted you and Naomi? Arewe letting them off scot-free?” He was shaking his head. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Oh,nowyou want to blame them?” I rolled my eyes with a laugh. “Fine, it’s entirelytheirfault. We are both free of any future guilt and responsibilities. Are we happy now? Can we move on?”

He returned my grin. “Yes. I can finally sleep well at night.”

Just then, his phone rang. Glancing at the caller ID, he smiled a little before excusing himself, and walked away while muttering a low “hey” into his phone.

A call this late at night, and him answering with a goofy smile on his face? It had to be the girl he was interested in. No, I most definitely wasnotjealous. Our fake relationship was ending, and no matter how I felt about him, we would be going our separate ways soon.

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