Total pages in book: 109
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101796 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 509(@200wpm)___ 407(@250wpm)___ 339(@300wpm)
Wren’s eyes narrow. “Have you thought about telling her all of this yourself?”
“I did already.” The girls exchange a look that makes me groan again. “I’m serious.”
“And?” Maya prompts.
“And I ended up coming over here. Obviously, it didn’t go all that well. She understands I didn’t send the pictures out, but she won’t forgive me.”
With a soft snort, Maya mutters, “Good for her. I’m glad she’s standing up for herself.”
“But she has to forgive me,” I blurt out, making both girls widen their eyes. “That’s why I need your help. I need you guys to talk to her for me.”
“Oh, please.” Maya even claps as she laughs loudly at me. “You’ve gotta be kidding. You want us to convince her to forgive you and act like this didn’t happen?”
“I don’t expect she could act like it didn’t happen. I know she can’t forget about it. And I know shit is going to be tough for her, at least for a little while.”
“Yeah, you think?” Maya snaps. No more laughter. She’s too busy looking like she is considering cutting my balls off here and now instead of waiting.
“I’m sorry, but I’m not going to betray her that way, which is exactly what I would be doing if I tried to talk her into letting this go. You’ve violated her,” she reminds me in a trembling voice. “And we are her friends. What you’re talking about sounds like gaslighting.”
“It’s not!” I didn’t want to start a fight, but everybody has their limit. “Fuck, are you seriously going to sit there and pretend like either of your boyfriends didn’t fuck with you like it was their mission in life? But that didn’t stop you from forgiving them, did it? Moving in with them, having a relationship with them?”
Shit. I only realize when Wren’s eyes pop open wide that I said too much.
“Don’t get the wrong idea,” I quickly add, before either of them can say anything. “It’s not like that with us. But just because I don’t want to fuck her doesn’t mean I don’t want her forgiveness.”
Who am I trying to convince? Because like it or not, fucking her is something I could get used to. Losing myself in her…
“I only want to make it right,” I tell them with a sigh. “That’s all. And if you could help me with that, it would mean everything. Like I said, I can’t change what happened, but if there’s anything I can do to help her, I want to. How can I try if she won’t even talk to me?”
Wren chews her lip before heaving a sigh, like she’s afraid she’s going to regret this. “We were already going to offer to drive her to school tomorrow,” she says while Maya folds her arms again. “We can try to talk to her. At least remind her you’re sorry and want to try to make it up to her.”
“But I am not forcing her,” Maya warns. “So don’t even think it’s going to be that easy.”
“I don’t think anything is going to be easy,” I reply, and that’s the truth. I know better by now. “Just… anything you can do.”
Because I can’t stand the memory of the hatred burning in her eyes when she was eating. There I was, doing everything I could to make her face me, and when she did, there was nothing I could do but wither under the heat of her glare.
It’s still weighing on me on the drive home. There is nothing like knowing how deeply a decent, innocent person is hurting, and knowing I’m the one who made it happen.
She didn’t deserve it.
She’s going to face a whole new level of shit from people around school if she even bothers going back. I can only hope the girls convince her that it’s the only thing she can do. That hiding is the same as giving up, and giving up means letting the bastards win.
It’s a shame I’m one of the bastards.
I’ve only been gone less than an hour, but a lot of changes have gone down since then. I figured she would find something to shove in front of the busted door I need to get fixed, but instead she took her bedding to one of the spare rooms. There’s a light coming from a door down the hall, while her bedroom is dark.
She must hear my footsteps, or maybe she was listening for the truck. Either way, a text comes through while I’m standing in the hallway, feeling like I should say something to her, wondering if she would listen.
Don’t even think about screwing around with my room. And don’t bother kicking this door in, because I’ll just move to another room.
Instead of texting back, I walk up to the door she’s locked behind. “I get why you want to shut me out.” It’s actually getting easier to talk to a door. I’ve done so much of it since last night. “But you can’t shut me out forever. I’m going to do whatever it takes to make things right. I only need you to tell me what you want me to do.”