As much as I want to keep this all to myself, there’s no point in prolonging the inevitable. Demi will hear about it eventually. Better to get it over with now and move on.
I clear my throat and attempt to keep my voice devoid of emotion. “Actually, we broke up.”
She jerks to attention and stares at me for a long heartbeat before searching my face as if she expects me to burst out with a just kidding!
When I remain silent, she whispers, “Are you serious?”
I inhale a deep breath and battle back a heavy wave of emotion as it crashes over me, threatening to suck me under. “Yep.” It’s a struggle to keep the thin waver from invading my voice.
“I...” Brows furrowed, she shakes her head as if she’s at a total loss for words. Demi might not be as outspoken as I am, but she’s rarely shocked into silence.
I press my lips together before forcing myself to repeat the lie I’d told Brayden. “In the end, it just wasn’t going to work out.”
“Oh.” Confusion flickers across her expression. “I thought you really liked him. You seemed so happy and got along so well.”
“Yeah...well.” I shrug. When the backs of my eyes begin to burn, I realize that I’m precariously close to falling apart. That’s the last thing I want to happen. Demi is my best friend, and I can tell her anything. Even if she doesn’t necessarily agree with my decision, she’ll stand by my side because that’s the kind of ride or die she is, but I don’t want to reveal the truth about Peter. She understands that he died in a car accident but doesn’t know the entire story. Only the bits and pieces I’ve chosen to share.
Even though I didn’t go far away to college, it was a relief to leave the claustrophobic halls of high school behind and start over with people who didn’t know who I was or the tragedy that had occurred. After the accident, there had been a lot of pitying looks mingled with accusatory ones aimed in my direction. Kids I’d known since grade school whispered behind my back, gossiping about how my older brother had been out drinking with friends and had gotten behind the wheel of his car. He’d killed himself and taken an innocent man with him.
Not only did we have to work our way through the grief and loss, but we had to reconcile ourselves with the disastrous decision he’d made. One that not only altered our family but someone else’s as well. There is no way to wrap that up with a pretty bow.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Demi asks gently, cutting into the chaotic whirl of my thoughts.
I shake my head. “Talking about the situation won’t change the outcome.” That, at the very least, is the truth.
When Demi opens her mouth in protest, I raise my hand and cut her off. “I’m sorry, I need to change and get ready for class.” Not waiting for a reply, I slip inside my room. Once the door is closed behind me, I lean against it and squeeze my eyes tightly shut.
It feels like I’m making the biggest mistake of my life, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
My relationship with Brayden is yet another casualty of the last decision Peter ever made.
Chapter Thirty-Six
Brayden
I strip off my practice jersey and pads before shoving them in my locker. One would think that my head would be focused on football. We have a conference rivalry game coming up this weekend. There shouldn’t be room for anything else. Certainly not Sydney or the way she annihilated my heart.
I’d hoped that with enough time and space, she would eventually come around, but so far, that hasn’t happened. When I showed up to class on Wednesday, Sydney refused to look at me and then slipped out the door before I could track her down for a conversation. A couple hours after that, I broke down and texted her. She opened the message and never bothered with a response.
Can you believe that shit?
It’s been three days since I dropped her off outside the apartment. The ride home from the cabin had been brutal. So many thoughts had run through my head as I poured over every minute interaction, trying to pinpoint where it had all gone wrong. It had to be when I declared my feelings. It’s the only thing that makes sense. Okay, so she’s not there yet. Why axe our entire relationship?
Is it possible that she was faking her emotions the entire time? The thought of her doing that is enough to make my gut twist into a painful knot. Or was this entire thing more casual for her? And the way I’d gotten serious freaked her out?