Page 29 of Sin Bins and Second Chances
He turns, his lips move, but I can’t hear what he says over the sound of the rain.
I’m sorry I broke both of our hearts. I’m sorry I couldn’t be honest with you. It was for your own good.I want to say the words out loud, but I physically can’t. All I can do is watch him walk away. Part of me hopes he’ll come over here and we can talk about it, but part of me doesn’t. I don’t want to say those words.
When he finally slips into his truck and moves to pull away, I know it’s finally over. This is it. I stand on the porch watching his truck drive down my driveway toward the main road. It’s growing dark and I see the tail lights round the corner around a cluster of trees. I break as soon as I can’t see his truck anymore, knowing he’s headed towards the gate. This is always how it was supposed to be.
The tears start slowly as I move inside and step out of my boots. It feels worse this time. I rub my chest; I didn’t know a heart could physically ache like this.It wasn’t even his choice.I remind myself. It’s not as if he came back to Sage Creek because he wanted to. He got traded. It was never a second chance. It was a cruel trick from fate.
In the end, he deserved to know the truth. Even if it really pushed him away forever. I just wasn’t expecting it to hurt like this. As if I’d held out hope all of these years. Now, it really was too late. The truth was out there and he was gone.
Chapter Fifteen
ETHAN
Anger fuels me as I slam on the brakes, the screeching sound echoing my frustration. I’m stuck at the open gate, unable to move forward. There’s no way I can leave the property. My body physically refuses. The fuck did she mean it wasn’t real, that it never would’ve worked? Her words aren’t matching up.
It’s bullshit.
I replay the night in my head. From the amazing game to the devastating phone call that followed. Only, I don’t feel the hurt, anger, and numbness like I did then. I didn’t realize it then,but it never added up. Her words never fucking matched up.
I think about my trip back home a little before that night. Everything was normal, even better than that. I’d seen the way she looked at me because it was the same fucking way I’d always looked at her. Even more, it was the same way I caught her looking at me earlier.
It wasn’t nothing. It was definitely fucking something.
The days that followed the breakup were a blur. I couldn’t concentrate in class. In fact, I’m pretty sure my professors only passed me because I was there on an athletic scholarship. It wasn’t until the coach chewed my ass out after a horrible game, I refocused. I needed it and would forever be grateful for those teachers and coaches who did more good than they realized.
Shortly after, my uncle called and told me what was going on back home. Daisy’s dad was sick. I’d tried to convince myself she just needed someone who was there with her. That long distance wasn’t physical enough. She’d already ended things and moved on with someone else.
Only, there was never anyone else. Shejustfucking admitted it. The realization slams into my chest and I back up my truck and haul ass back to her house.
There was never anyone else and never would be. She pushed me away when she needed me. Why the fuck would she do that? Didn’t she know she was my world? I would’ve given her anything. I’d have given up everything.
Brakes screech.
I scramble to turn off the truck and reach her. I storm over to the porch. The rain soaks me, but I don’t care. Nothing else matters but getting to her.
Knowing the truth changes everything. Daisy pushed me away, knowing full well what I would’ve done. All it does is piss me off. I wasn’t there when she needed me.
I would’ve been there for her, no matter how much she pushed. So, she did the one thing that would’ve stopped me. Well, it wasn’t going to work again. She would never get to push me away again. I wouldn’t let her. Even if she wasn’t ready to hear it or admit it, there was still something here. There was something here because those feelings never went away. Love like that doesn’t simply go away or disappear.
Rational thoughts escape me as I run up the porch steps and throw open the door. I don’t bother with knocking, not when the door is unlocked. Then that thought angers me. Here she is, home alone, with the for unlocked for any psycho to storm in.
“What the fuck, Daisy?” I yell as I walk inside. “Leaving your door unlocked for any maniac to just waltz in here?” I slam the door shut and lock it behind me.
“Ethan?” Her voice comes out like a whisper as she rounds the corner.
My eyes zero in on her and the tears falling down her face. “Baby.” I rush towards her and pull her into my arms.
“You left,” she speaks as she sniffles.
I pull back and look down at her. “I’m never leaving you again.”
She shakes her head. “But?—”
“I know,” I interrupt her. “I know you think you did what was best, but I disagree. I fucking hate that we’ve lost all this time.”
She shakes her head and tries to push me away.
“You can’t push me away this time, Daisy. No matter what you say.”
