Page 105 of Ghosts Don't Cry
“Get the fuck out of my house.”
“Make me. Or better yet, prove me wrong. Tell me you don’t care that she’s hurting, or that she might lose her job. Tell me you don’t?—”
“Of course I fucking care!” The shout rips out of me. “Do you think I wanted any of this? Do you really think I wanted to come back here, dealing with the same assholes, and watch her slowly fall apart because of me?”
“Then stop fucking hurting her.” Cassidy doesn’t miss a beat. “The whole town is talking about what happened between the two of you. And now she’s facing the school board who are looking for any excuse to fire her.”
“I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“Then why did you come back? Why are you here?” Her voice drops, becoming quieter, but no less cutting. “You could have just stayed away from her, but you didn’t. And now you’re not doing anything to stop what’s happening. You’re just letting her deal with the fallout, while you hide in here, pretending none of it matters.”
I turn away, staring at the broken faucet on the counter.
“You can keep pretending you don’t care. You can keep pushing her away. But ask yourself this, while you’re in here avoiding the world … How many times are you going to make her pay the price for loving you?”
The question hangs in the air between us. I don’t turn around. After a moment, her footsteps move away.
“Fix this, Ronan,” she says as the door swings open. “Or stay away from her for good. But stop fucking breaking her heart.”
The door closes behind her with a click that sounds like a prison cell locking shut.
I let out a breath, trying to ease the pressure in my chest. It doesn’t help. The damage has already been done, and it’s digging its way through my body. A truth I can’t outrun, no matter how much I pretend otherwise.
I rest both hands against the counter, head bowed, staring at the sink that still needs fixing.
And it reminds me that some things, once broken, never work the same again.
I know that better than anyone.
How many times are you going to make her pay the price for loving you?
I press the heels of my hands against my eyes.
Lily could be losing her job. Because of me.
The town is turning against her. Because of me.
Her life is falling apart. Because of me.
Because I came back.
That’s the part I can’t escape. I could have stayed away, refused to come to town and find out what Edwards’ lawyer wanted. I could have moved on to another town. But I didn’t. I came back here, knowing she was here.
And now she’s paying the price of my presence.
Again.
Chapter Forty-Two
LILY - AGE 18
The first timeRonan avoids my touch, I think I’m imagining it.
The second time, I know I’m not.
It’s clear in the way he moves to the side, his fingers twitching before he shoves them deep into his pockets. His shoulders lock when I get too close, and he won’t meet my eyes for more than a second before shifting his gaze away.
He’s hiding something, and I can’t figure out what. I don’t understand it.
