Page 25 of One Little Lie
Rylan
I’m frozen to my spot. My worst fear is happening right before my eyes as Colton and Hatty face off, and my heart races when I realize Hatty won’t fight back.
I’m too raw from last night. Too ashamed of myself to think straight. But I couldn’t leave him up there like that, even if he did deserve it. He looks like hell, and I have no doubt GG’s truth wine did him in again.
I shouldn’t have allowed anything to happen between us last night. I feel dirty and used. Again. But I could hear it in his voice. He’s hurting, too. I wish I understood why. After last night, I have no doubt he has love for me. He just won’t allow himself to feel it, and that might hurt more than anything.
GG interrupts my thoughts by roping her arm through mine. “He doesn’t think too highly of himself.”
“He never did.”
“Mmhmm. Just as I thought. Do ya love him?”
I peer down at her, fear grabbing hold of my throat. She really is scary, but all I see is love and understanding as I search her gaze. “I always have.”
My shoulders slump like a thousand-pound weight was just lifted.
“He’s gonna tear himself apart before he can be whole, ya know.”
I nod because I don’t dare argue with her.
“He’s hurting, Rylan. Time has made it worse, and somethin’ made him believe he isn’t worthy of your love. Any idea what that might be?”
“N-No. GG, we happened a long time ago. I don’t know him anymore.”
Liar. Gah! I’m hearing voices now.
“Time means nothin’ when it comes to love, dear. When he was hurting before he pushed you away, could you fix him?”
“He was never broken, GG. He just didn’t know how he fit …”
I stumble as a memory goes off like a gun to my chest.
“My moiety. I only fit in when you’re with me, Rylan. My world doesn’t make sense without you in it. It’s like I’m drowning every day of my life, and I can only break the surface when you’re with me. You’re my life raft. My sun … I rotate around you, seeking your warmth because that’s when I’m living. You’re my panacea for a dull, lonely life.”
* * *
“That’s a lot to throw at a seventeen-year-old girl, huh?” Lexi states as I retell our story. Her words hold judgment, as she glares with pale blue eyes, but I understand why she would think that. Hatty and I were always on another level when we were together.
“Our relationship was different,” I explain. “Two old souls that fit together to make the other whole.”
I glance away from the girls and take in Ari’s home. It’s cozy, with muted gray walls and pale yellow accents. It feels lived in, which puts me at ease.
“So, he was your other half, took your virginity on prom night, then pushed you away? Not only pushed you away, but took a bet with high school assholes to see who could pop your cherry first?”
I cringe at her crass words, and my shoulders shrug even as my heart screams to stand up for him. Visions of his tormented expression last night have haunted me all day.
“We couldn’t go to prom together.”
“Why not?” Ari asks, refilling my wine glass. After the disaster at Summerfest, they swooped in like a swat team, scooped me up, and brought me back to Ari’s while the Westbrooks rounded up the guys. My spine tingles with worry. I hope the two men who have always resided in my heart don’t kill each other.
She takes a seat next to me on the couch, and I’m surprised to find I’m incredibly drawn to her. She’s a gentle soul with kind eyes and quick with a hug. Her short pixie cut bounces as she sits and it accentuates her delicate features, but it’s her soft-spoken voice that causes me to smile. Colton was right about her, too.
“We kept our ‘relationship’,” I use air quotes because we never labeled it, “a secret. It just seemed like the right thing for us. At one point, Hatty wanted to tell Colton, but I talked him out of it. I didn’t want to come between them, and I wasn’t sure how Colton would take it.”
“Not well, by the looks of things today.” Lexi smirks. I don’t think she can even help her snarkiness sometimes.
“No, I-I think that had more to do with me leaving and rarely coming home.”
