Filfthy(70)

“I’m so sorry.” Daphne shakes her head. “I hated to tell you. I debated on whether or not I should since you’re leaving tomorrow. But I thought you had the right to know. And even Weston was upset. He had no idea Zane was taking a date, but to be fair, Weston wasn’t originally going to go because his brother was getting married, but the wedding got cancelled, and that’s how we ended up going, but anyway. Weston was just as shocked as I was. We didn’t stay very long after that. Maybe twenty minutes. Long enough to say hi and be seen by all the right people, and then we were gone.”

I huff. “I guess it’s not like he was my boyfriend. I mean, technically this isn’t cheating.”

“Were you exclusive?”

“I was. But clearly my efforts were one-sided.”

My phone buzzes gently from across the table, and Daphne watches with bated breath as I reach for it and slide it near. Zane’s name flashes across the lit screen.

“Speak of the devil.” I don’t think twice before tapping the red button. “No thank you.”

A few taps later and his number is officially blocked from my phone.

“I’m done,” I declare, welcoming the numbness that washes over me and reminding myself that what’s done is done, and that someday this will all be a distant memory. “I took your advice, and I embraced complicated, and it was fun for a while, but I won’t be lied to. I have more respect for myself than that.”

“Good for you.”

I stand up, taking a sip of my coffee before shoving my phone in my back pocket.

“Ready to get to work?” she asks.

“Yeah. Let’s load the last of the small boxes. The furniture movers will be here around noon,” I say. “Just promise me one thing.”

“Sure?”

“Don’t tell Aunt Rue about this. I’m not in the mood for one of her lectures, and I know she’ll march over there and give him the what-for, and I just don’t want to spend my last day here dealing with any of that.”

“Won’t say a word.” Daphne slips her arm around my shoulder and we head to one of the back rooms where Rue keeps her doll collection and crystal.

“And promise me one other thing,” I say as we walk.

“Of course.”

I bite down on my trembling lip, hoping the physical pain will override the emotional. “Promise it won’t feel like this forever.”

“It won’t. It gets better. I promise.”

We stop in the hall and she wraps me in her arms. She’s a good three inches taller than me, and I bury my head in her shoulder.

“I don’t understand.” My words are muffled against her shirt.

“And you never will.” She rubs circles into my back. “All you can do is move on and try to forget.”

Our sweet summer fling has officially left a nasty taste in my mouth. I’ve spent the summer drunk on endorphins and adrenaline rushes, Oxytocin, and lust. But now it’s a toxic combination, coursing through my veins and making me sick.

I want to forget.

I want to forget everything about him.





Chapter 37





Zane



Five calls. Four texts. Nothing’s going through.

She’s blocked me.

Which means she doesn’t want to talk to me . . .

Which means she’ll never hear the truth . . .

Which means she’ll leave here tomorrow, hurt, because of something she thinks I did.

I slam my phone down and glance out the window in time to see a moving truck back into Rue’s driveway.

Daphne ambles across the drive, motioning for the truck to come a little closer and then telling it when to stop.

My heart races, pounding so hard I can’t think straight. Without hesitating or thinking any of this through, I grab a piece of paper and scribble down a note.



Gorgeous,

Please take my calls. Please come see me before you leave. It’s not what you think.

I love you.

de la Cruz



I read the note and crumple it up. I’m not telling her I love her in a note. That’s fucking lame. We’re not in junior high.

I grab another sheet and write the note again, this time omitting the part where I tell her I love her. Someday, when I get a chance, I’m going to tell her to her face. She’ll get to hear it straight from me.

Slipping on tennis shoes, I run outside before Daphne disappears, ignoring the horrified look on her face when she sees me coming at her.

“Daphne, I swear to you it isn’t what it looked like. What did you tell her?” I hook my hands on my hips, squinting, the letter folded neatly in my left palm.

“I told her what I saw.” Her voice is laced with disgust. This isn’t the Daphne I met a couple of months ago. This Daphne hates my fucking guts. “And you shouldn’t be here. I don’t want my sister seeing you, especially after I spent all morning calming her down.”