Page 15 of One Little Lie
“Wow. Great! Would you have let me buy the dress, too? Geez, Colt. You’re supposed to be my best friend.”
He tosses his napkin in my face. “Oh, I would have said something before your bachelorette party. I already planned that as the night I’d kidnap you and make you see reason.”
“Pretty confident you’d be at my bachelorette party, huh?”
“Pfft. Please, I’m your best friend. I’ll be planning the damn thing. And it will be epic when it happens. Vegas, strippers, the whole nine yards.”
“Just because you treat me like one of the guys doesn’t mean I actually am one of the guys. You know that, right?”
His grin rivals the devils. “What? No strippers?”
“Will they have penises?”
Colton grimaces. “Right. No strippers.”
“So, you really have no idea what’s going on with Hatty?” My chest constricts just saying his name.
“Hatty? Jesus. I haven’t heard that name in years. Only you could get away with calling him a girl’s name.” He laughs, then becomes serious. “No, Ryguy. I don’t know what happened to him, but it’s like one day, the life, the fun, the light just left him. For a while, I thought it was losing Dad. But now? Now I have no fucking clue.”
Emotion clogs my throat as he speaks because I know what happened. It happened to me, too. The light goes out when you lose faith in love.
“You sure you’re okay? You look a little pale.” Colton reaches across the table to feel my forehead. “Ah, not really sure what I’m supposed to be feeling for here.”
Laughing, I swat him away. “You feel someone’s forehead to see if they have a fever. Geez, Colty. You really haven’t changed. I’ve missed you, though.”
“Ditto, Ryguy. Glad to have you home.”
* * *
Sitting on the edge of my bed, I stare at the broken door separating me from Hatty. I should just march over there and demand answers, right? That’s what I came home for. It’s the least I deserve, but if I’m being honest, I’m worried about him, too.
Colton said he’s turning into a sad asshole. Carrying around guilt for ten years will do that to a person. It makes me more determined than ever to get him to let it go. It might be the only way for either of us to move forward.
Remembering the ache I felt when our eyes clashed at the pizza place, I steel my resolve. I can’t keep holding back my heart, saving it for a man who can never love me in return. Even if, for the briefest moment, I saw a flash of the love I thought we once had.
Childish ideas about love are what got you hurt in the first place,Rylan.Remember that.
Tears swell in my eyes at the thought, but if he can’t love me, he has to let me go. And I’ll have to learn to live with half a heart.
Crossing the room, I can see he attempted to barricade the door closed, but the thing is basically just leaning against the frame. Pressing my ear to it, I listen, trying to find out if he’s in there. After a few minutes of silence, I shake my head and walk to the shower.
* * *
What am I doing? I’m not adventurous. I’m not this bad girl that sneaks out of the house to catch a bus to ride four hours through the Blue Ridge Mountains. I’m an awkward, sixteen-year-old girl who hides behind walls, but here I am.
Hatty needs you.
I wanted to punch him right in the face when he called me hours ago to tell me he was on his way to Asheville, the art mecca of the southeast, for a small showcase on his charcoals.
“What the hell, Hatty? Why didn’t you tell me? I would have come with you.”
“I’m not sure I can do it. I-I don’t want you to see me fail. I just wanted you to know. I need some of your …”
“Some of my what?”
“It sounds stupid, never mind.”
“Hatty Millhouse Westbrook.”
