Page 93 of Claim to Fame

“I want your mess!” He scowled, intentionally lowering his tone. “You’re the one making this an either-or situation. Not me.”

She scoffed. “That’s not reality, Ethan. I can’t hide in Aster Bay forever. I was always going to have to go back eventually.”

Anger flooded his veins, his ears hot and his heart pounding. “And what was your plan? To leave me behind again? Call again in six months and see if I’ll meet you for a quick fuck?”

“What wasyourplan?” she countered. “Did you really think I was going to give upeverythingafter a few weeks together without taking the time to think it through?”

“It’s been years, Hannah, not a few weeks. And I’m not asking you to give anything up. I’m asking you to make room for me in your life. To figure this out with me. I’m asking you not to throw what we have away.”

“But you’re never going to move to New York.”

“Of course not.”

“So when you say ‘figure it out,’ you mean I have to be the one to give up my life. You’re asking me to choose.”

He threw his arms out wide, unable to contain his frustration. “Fine, I want you to choose me, Han. Chooseus. For fuck’s sake, choose yourself.”

She took a step back as though she’d been hit. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That career is no good for you. And you said yourself you didn’t even know if you wanted to do it anymore. You made yourself sick trying to fit into the box they wanted to put you in and then that world literally ran you out of town.”

“What am I supposed to do, Ethan?” she demanded, stepping toe to toe with him, her eyes blazing. “At least I’ve put myself out there. At least I haven’t been afraid to let the world see who I really am.”

Her accusation left him breathless, grasping for words, as anger simmered low in his gut. “It’s not the same thing.”

“I couldn’t hide if I wanted to. They’ve literally hunted me down.”

“Us. They’ve huntedusdown,” he said, stepping closer.

She shook it off, determined to make her point. “I’ve made mistakes and being an actress isn’t always fun or easy, but I’ve never hidden who I was.”

“Except when you were lying about fucking a pop star,” he spat.

She sucked in a breath, and he knew he’d gone too far, could see the walls going up behind her eyes. “And what are you hiding, Ethan? I don’t think you were afraid of the world finding out about Slade because he’s so different from you. I think you were afraid because you’re too much alike, because Slade is the parts of yourself you don’t let anyone see”

He struggled for words, to find some way to refute what she’d said, prove her wrong, and yet…

Hannah blinked, her expression going blank, and took a step away from him. “I don’t want to fight with you.”

He huffed out a breath, reaching for her, but she moved out of reach. “Then let’s not fight. Let’s go inside and—”

“I need some space. I’m going to go for a walk.”

“You shouldn’t go out alone. What if the paparazzi find you?”

She laughed bitterly. “Then they’ll get another crappy picture of me. What’s one more at this point?”

She started to walk away, but Ethan caught her hand, regret clawing up his throat. “Hannah, please, don’t leave like this.”

“It’s just a walk, Ethan.” She stared at the place where his hand gripped hers, her brows drawn together in the center and her mouth set in a grim line.

He released her, though everything in him was screaming to pull her back towards him, to dosomething, anything to make her realize she belonged with him.

Instead, he watched as she walked away.

∞∞∞

Hannah kicked a rock along the side of the road and clutched the phone to her ear, watching as it skittered across the gravel and disappeared into the grassy bank on the other side. The streetlights were starting to come on as the sun set. Terrence McFancyCock crowed in the distance and a smile tugged at her lips despite how miserable she felt.

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