Page 79 of Wild Pitch
“We’re not playing, Kylie. And God, baby. I don’t want to hurt you, but I can’t do this anymore.”
“What did I do?”
“You didn’t do anything. I told you when we met that this wouldn’t be permanent. And I need to end it now; otherwise, it will only hurt more later.”
Then she ran. The door slammed shut behind her, and she was gone. The silence that remained slammed into me, along with regret and an intense pressure in my chest, as one of thepurest people I had ever met walked out of my life. I hated myself for hurting her. I hated my life for making this the only option.
CHAPTER 39
KYLIE
Islammed into my apartment, ran straight past Lily and her guest into my room. Her shocked expression turned to compassion as she remembered the significance of tonight. She stood to follow me into my room, and I shook my head, needing to be alone. I didn’t want to talk to Lily about this yet; I could hear her warnings in my head, and she had been right.
The short walk back to my apartment hadn’t been enough time for me to process what had happened. The coldness and resolution in Luc’s expression were evident, as his warm brown eyes had turned dark. I hadn’t recognized him.
Me: Please tell me I misunderstood.
I watched my text screen for confirmation that it had been delivered or read. After ten minutes with no change in status, it could only mean he’d blocked me.
Curling into a ball on my bed, I sobbed.
What had happened between last night and this afternoon? My entire body ached, my eyes swelled, and my nose burned from crying.
Shit. I had to cancel dinner with my parents.
Me to Mom and Dad: Hey, not going to make it. Caught at work late.
Dad: Okay. Try again next week?
Me: Ok.
In less than three minutes, Kendra checked in on me.
Kendra: What happened?
Me: I don’t know.
Kendra: I can come right now…
Me: After dinner. I don’t want anyone to know something is wrong.
Kendra: Give me an hour. I’ll tell them it’s work.
An hour later, I sat on my bed with my knees pulled into my chest as Kendra and Lily waited patiently for me to explain. The words were barely understandable through the sobs that continued to burst out of me.
When I hyperventilated for the third time, Kendra wrapped me in her arms and reminded me to breathe. After what felt like an hour, my body was so exhausted from crying that I settled into irregular, hiccuping breaths as I tried to regulate my breathing.
Lily passed me a cup of hot tea. She’d found my reserve of lemon loaf flavor, my favorite comfort drink. I sipped it, waiting for it to work.
“Did he hurt you?” Kendra asked as her hands shook.
“No, not like that.”
Emotionally, I was in more pain than I’d ever imagined. But I didn’t think that was what Kendra was asking. If I were in a good place emotionally, I might explore why she had asked that question.
Lily had taken out her phone and scrolled through Instagram.
“Oh.”
