Page 58 of Faking Ties

“I don’t know.” I sigh. “I know you want me to keep an open mind, but it’s difficult.”

“I get it, but Elodie is one of the best people I know. She didn’t want to hurt you.”

“Is she still in the room?” I ask, ignoring her endorsement of Elodie.

“Yeah, we went to check on her, but she refuses to move.”

I nod and walk down the hardwood floors. When I’m outside the door, my hand shakes as I reach for the knob and twist.

Elodie’s head snaps up and her red-rimmed eyes widen when she takes me in. I shut the door behind me and sit next to her on the bed.

There’s a pile of tissues on the floor next to her, and I hate that she’s been crying.

“Hey.” It’s a bad opener, but I don’t know what else to say.

“Where did you go?”

“For a walk, to clear my head.”

“Are you okay?”

I snort and shake my head. “It feels like a betrayal, to find out you’re not who I thought you were. I get that you didn’t have a choice and that you were protecting Stella, but it makes me question everything we had. Did you…” I break off and stare at the floor, swallowing hard. “Did you even enjoy spending time with me, or was it all just part of the act?”

It’s one of my biggest fears, and I’m worried that it’s just come true. She grabs my hand, but I refuse to look at her. I can’t bear to see the pity in her gaze, or worse, the confirmation. Instead, the floor is a safer place to focus on.

“Spending time with you,” she says, “was the best part of my day. Through it all, I looked forward to your texts and seeing you. You made everything better.”

I glance at her, not sure if she’s saying it to be kind or if she really means it.

“I’m serious,” she says. “I was struggling for the first few weeks, and you helped me more than you know.”

I search her face, trying to determine if she’s telling the truth, and come up empty-handed. I don’t know if I can even read her anymore. “Where do we go from here?”

“Well,” she says, “I still need your help with Jax, and I’m assuming you still need help with Evren?”

“I do.”

“Then let’s still continue to fake date. I understand that what’s between us isn’t real, and can never be after I hurt you, but I still want you in my life.”

She does?I squash the hope that causes my stomach to flip at her words. I selfishly don’t want to give her up, not yet. Not until I discover if the woman I fell for was really Elodie or not.

“Okay,” I say, “but I want to get to know you as Elodie.”

“But you already know me. I wasn’t pretending with you.”

“I’m going to need some time before I can believe that.”

“I understand,” she whispers.

“We need a nickname for you, so I don’t accidently call you Elodie in front of others.”

“What about Ella?”

“Ella.” I try out the nickname, and it feels natural, like it fits her more than Stella ever did. “I like it.”

“Hi.” She sticks her hand out for me to shake. “Nice to meet you. I’m Elodie, but you can call me Ella.”

“Hi.” I grab her hand in mine, the spark that’s between us still there. “Nice to meet you. I’m Hunter.”

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