Page 17 of One Little Lie
He turns then, and my head falls away from his shoulder. “You are the good moiety of my soul.”
“You need to stop reading the dictionary. I can’t keep up with these big words anymore.” I laugh, but it fades as Hatty stares at my lips. My heart races as the air shifts between us, and I forget to breathe.
“You came,” he whispers.
Is it just me, or is his face inching closer to mine?
“I always will, Hatty. If you can’t believe in yourself, I’ll always be here to do it for you.”
“You’re the cynosure in my world.”
“I don’t know—”
He closes the distance between us, effectively cutting off my question when his lips land gently on mine.
I gasp, and his tongue timidly caresses my lip. A feeling deep in my belly I never knew existed rages and roils as I clamber to get closer, but as quickly as it started, he pulls away and smiles.
My eyes search his for meaning. He kissed me. But what does it mean?
“You’re the only thing I know to be true, Rylan. The only time I feel whole is with you. You’re my talisman, my world, my verity.”
“Truth,” I gasp. Verity was a vocabulary word in school last year. I remember telling him I thought it was the most beautiful word in the entire English language, and now he’s called me his truth.
A shy smile pulls at his lips, and he leans in to kiss me once more. “My verity,” he sighs just before I taste his lips for the second time.
* * *
Igasp for breath as I realize my shower has run cold. The memories of Hatty and I knock the wind from my lungs as I double over, attempting to breathe. It’s been years since a memory has assaulted me like this, and it hurts more than I remember.
I can’t go back to this dark place.
It took me years to move on from him. I have to be stronger than this. Just because he’s next door doesn’t change the way he feels. Unrequited love is a real bitch sometimes, but I won’t let it shred me to pieces again. I need to make him understand he doesn’t have to feel guilty over me anymore. He can forget all about the love we once had, and maybe, just maybe, my heart will learn to move on again, too.
Chapter 6
Halton
Seeing my brother hold Rylan’s hand is the worst kind of pain. It seals my fate, too.My father was right. My life is fucked.
I don’t remember the drive back up the mountain, or what Ash said when I threw the pizzas at him and walked away. All I know is I’m a man on the edge, and I don’t know how I can survive seeing her every day.
When she first moved to London, my heart forgot to beat, but seeing her now? Now I know I would have lost my mind a long time ago if she’d been close by.
How can I possibly handle seeing her and Colton together? Knowing she was with dingle dick in London was hard. Fuck, it sucked. But part of me was happy I wouldn’t have to see my brother start a life with her.
And this confirms what I already knew to be true.
I’m not good enough for her. A good man would be happy for his brother, regardless of the pain, and that’s not me. The rage I felt seeing him hold her hand was otherworldly. I’d never experienced a hate, a pain so viscerally as I did today. That makes me a fucking monster.
“You can’t do this to him, Halt. Colton loved her first.”My father’s words are so clear, I could swear he was standing in front of me again.“She deserves to be happy, Halton. Someone that lifts her up to shine in a crowd full of strangers. You’re—”I hadn’t let him finish. I knew what he would say, and I didn’t need to hear my own father telling me I wasn’t good enough.
The memory of what comes next has my body in motion, even as my mind stays caught in a nightmare.
* * *
The swinging door of the old, industrial kitchen jerks me from my thoughts. Everything comes into focus, like waking in the middle of sleepwalking. The commercial mixer whips the butter, sugar, and eggs while I mix the dry ingredients by hand.
“Can’t say I’m surprised, Fibby.”
