“This is real life, my loves.” He laughed again. “We are a real family.”
Chapter Twelve
I FACED FORWARD, staring at the night sky, next to Weston in the cab of his pickup truck. The engine was silent, and the cars beneath the overpass made the occasional swish that let me know I was in my beloved place. But in that moment, it wasn’t.
Weston had barely spoken since he met me in Sam and Julianne’s drive half an hour before. He hadn’t responded to further texts, and he’d seemed more than just a little pissed off when I climbed into the passenger seat. I wouldn’t break the silence though. He had to fix whatever was bothering him this time.
He sighed but didn’t speak. A minute went by and then another. The air was beginning to grow thick, and the cab of the truck was full of everything we hadn’t said.
“Are you mad?” he finally asked.
“Are you?”
He craned his neck at me and then swallowed. “Why would I be mad?”
After a few seconds of silent disbelief, I turned to him. “If you’re not, then why are you acting like you are?”
“I’m not mad.”
“You’re not?”
“I’m…nervous.”
My expression twisted. “What are you talking about?”
“I saw Brady today.”
“Oh.”
“At Gose Jewelers.”
“Oh?”
“He said he was going to tell you what I was doing there, and it dawned on me that you might be pissed. Even though”—he squirmed in his seat—“it’s not meant to piss you off.”
He kept his eyes forward and held up his arm between us, across the seat. He was pinching his class ring between his index finger and thumb. It was a thick gold band with black etchings—our class year on one side, a baseball on the other. The gem was garnet, meant to signify our primary school color and mascot, the Maroon Spirit. The band was a lot smaller than the last time I’d seen it. It was definitely too small to fit on any of his fingers.
I raised an eyebrow. “You…had your ring sized?”
“To fit your finger.”
“The necklace wasn’t enough?”
He faced me, dismayed. “Brady was right. You’re pissed.”
“I’m not…pissed. I just thought that maybe you might have asked before doing something so drastic.” I raised my hands, fingers spread apart. “I don’t wear rings, Weston.”
He let his hand fall.
“It’s really sweet,” I said.
“I had it all planned out. It wasn’t until Brady reminded me that I remembered. You’re…you.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” I asked, offended.
His shoulders fell, and he looked out his window. He shook his head. “Nothing.” His head fell back against his headrest, and he blew out a breath.
“You asked me to say that I needed you. I did because I do. You asked for promises. I made them. Now, you want to put a ring on my finger.”
“Just until I can save up for a real one.”
“A real what?”
He expectantly looked over at me, waiting for the answer to come to me.
I snapped my open mouth shut. “No. No. I don’t want that, not yet.”
“Don’t worry. It’s going to take me a while. The ones I saw at Gose’s were expensive.”
My mouth turned dry, and my lungs weren’t getting enough air. “What is this obsessive need you have to put a leash on me? I’ve been waiting my whole life to get out of here and be free, and it’s like you can’t wait to put me back on a chain!”
Weston suddenly appeared very tired. “Yep. You’re pissed.”
“I’m not pissed! I can’t…I love you, but I can’t keep…you have to stop!”
“Just say it.”
“Say what?” The tone of my voice scared me more than his words.
“You’re going to start packing soon. I figured you would say it at some point before.”
My chest hurt with searing physical pain. “Why are you doing this? Why are you trying to push me away? Does everything really have to be the way you want it or not at all?”
Weston held up the ring. “Does this look like I’m pushing you away?”
I looked at the ring, my heart breaking. “Why is this so hard?” I looked down. “It shouldn’t be this hard.”
“No, it shouldn’t.”
I peeked over at him. “Can’t you just be patient? This is a lot for me.”
His jaw flitted under his skin. “You’re leaving the day after tomorrow. I don’t wanna…if you don’t want the ring, that’s fine. I should have known better. Erin…I’m…” He formed his mouth around the breath he blew out. “I’m just going to let you go. I think that’s best.”
“Are you breaking up with me?” I asked. “Because I won’t wear that?”
“Does it matter?”
I puffed like the air had been knocked out of me. “I don’t understand what’s happening.”
He faced forward, clenching his teeth. “Do you want me to take you home?”
I winced. “Yes.”
The truck engine revved, and he threw the gear into drive, surging forward until we were on the other side of the overpass. He yanked the wheel to the left, flipping us in a one-eighty, and then stomped on the gas. We practically flew to my house. He didn’t pull into the drive. Instead, he stopped at the curb just long enough for me to climb down. I didn’t even get the door shut before he pulled away, the sudden forward motion closing it for me.
Weston’s truck quickly rounded the corner, but I made sure to get inside before I could hear whether he went home or drove away. I didn’t want to know.
I tried to be quiet as I walked up the stairs, but just as I reached the top, Julianne called my name.
“Everything all right?”
“No,” I said, sitting on the stairs in a huff. “He’s mad at me—again.”
“What happened?”
“He sized his class ring. He wanted me to wear it. He had it all planned out and wanted it to be special, but I freaked out and ruined the whole thing. I think he broke up with me.”
Julianne’s cheeks filled with air, and then she slowly blew it out, looking to be in deep thought. “Whoa.”