Page 79 of The Wreckage Of Us
I shook my head, a bitter laugh escaping my lips. “It doesn’t matter. He’s always going to hurt me. He’s chaos. And I—I don’t survive chaos, Corinne.”
She touched my arm gently. “You don’t have to decide tonight. Just… don’t shut the door completely, okay?”
I swallowed hard, blinking back the sting in my eyes. “Okay,” I whispered.
She kissed my cheek softly before slipping away, leaving me alone again with the quiet hum of the night.
I stayed there for what felt like forever, staring at the black sky until a movement outside caught my eye.
A figure.
No.
No, no, no.
I rushed to the front door, my pulse skyrocketing as I flung it open.
Ace stood at the edge of the driveway, hands shoved deep in his pockets, head tilted back as he stared up at the stars. His dark hair was messy, the sleeves of his black shirt pushed up, tattoos peeking along his forearms.
I stepped outside, the cold night air wrapping around me. “What are you doing here?”
He turned, and even in the moonlight, I could see the war in his eyes. “I couldn’t leave it like that.”
My arms crossed tightly across my chest. “You should have.”
He took a few steps toward me, stopping when the tension between us crackled like a live wire. “Brittany…” His voice broke, and I hated how much it undid me. “I messed up. I know that. But I never wanted Sierra. Not really. It was always you. It’s always been you.”
I let out a shaky laugh, fighting the emotion clawing up my throat. “Then why, Ace? Why let me think you were with her? Why show up now like you’re some hero in a love song? You broke me.”
His jaw clenched, eyes fierce. “Because I was a goddamn coward. I didn’t think I was good enough for you. I still don’t. Sierra was easy, Brit. You… you terrify me.”
Tears blurred my vision. “Good. Because you terrify me too.”
Without thinking, I turned to go back inside, but his hand shot out, fingers curling gently around my wrist.
“Please,” he murmured, voice rough with desperation. “Don’t run from me.”
I closed my eyes, chest heaving, fighting the war inside myself. His touch was fire and I was already burning.
“Say you don’t feel it,” Ace whispered against my ear, stepping closer until his chest pressed to my back. “Say you don’t want me. I’ll walk away, Brit. I swear to God. But if there’s even a part of you that wants this…” His lips grazed the curve of my neck, and my knees almost buckled. “Tell me now, or I’m never letting you go.”
I whirled around, shoving at his chest, my voice shaking. “You don’t get to do this! You don’t get to break me and then ask for pieces back. You don’t know what it’s been like, Ace. You don’t know what you did to me.”
His hands cradled my face, eyes blazing. “Then tell me. Scream at me. Hit me. But don’t stand there pretending you don’t love me.”
And God help me—my hands fisted in his shirt, pulling him down to me, lips crashing into his like a storm.
It was angry. It was desperate. It was everything we’d been shoving down for years.
His mouth claimed mine, his arms tightening around my waist as if he was afraid I’d disappear. My body melted into his, the fight slipping away as his kiss softened, his lips brushing mine like an apology, a plea.
When we finally broke apart, breathless, I rested my forehead against his.
“I’m scared,” I whispered.
“I know,” he murmured, his thumb brushing a tear from my cheek. “Me too.”
We stood there, holding on like the world was crumbling around us, and for the first time, I let myself believe it was okay to fall.
