Page 69 of All the Promises We Break

“Yeah, she was, but she couldn’t make it though.”

“Why was Wes at your rehearsal?”

I can feel a flush run to my face. “How do you know he was at my rehearsal?”

“I came by to tell you about the appointment, and I saw him holding you close, kissing your forehead, and telling you he’s got you. Sounds like there’s something I don’t know. What’s going on, Dylan?”

“I don’t like your tone. Not even a little. If you have something to say, maybe you should just say it. What are you asking me?”

“What are you and he hiding?”

I know exactly what he’s asking. That hurts more than my body. “You know what, ask him. This day can fuck off and going to bed.”

I push past him into the bedroom and slam the door. I’m trying to give him grace. He’s got triggers. This just stomped over a pretty big one. However, I’ve never once in our relationship even looked at anyone else. I hope he takes the slam as a wake-up call.

Seeking some comfort from my favorite gray joggers of his and an oversized T-shirt, I curl up on the bed. As my head hitshis pillow, the door opens. “I’m not asking him. I’m asking you. What are you keeping from me?”

“Do you need it to be what you think it is, so you can feel validated in talking to me the way you are? I’m not going to play that game.”

“I’m very aware it’s not a game. When I start to see the same patterns begin, I have every right to ask.”

“No. No you don’t. You really don’t. You trust me until you stop trusting me.”

“I stop trusting when there are secrets involved.”

My voice and body begin to quiver as I sit up and try to keep it together, even through the accusations. “Eli, I’m trying to be super understanding here, but you’re crossing a line. I told you to ask him. You need to ask him. It’s not my place to share.”

“Again, I’m not asking him, I'm asking you.”

The dam breaks and I start crying again. I’ve been holding these tears in for most of the day alone. What Eli saw was the end of freak-out number one that Wes walked into the middle of. He did what any person who cares about me would do.

“Well, I’m not fucking around on you. There. Does that make your soul feel better? It sure as hell doesn’t mine. Wes has a girlfriend. He’s not fucking around on her either. Back off, Sawyer.”

“Why because he told you he’s not?”

“No,” I scream, “because she did.”

Fuck. No. No. No.

“How do you know her? I’ve never even met her.” Eli takes a couple steps back. I can see his mind working. It’s going through the recall I’ve seen him go through for months. He looks to my side of the bed and the framed picture of the four of us from the wedding. Something clicks.

He paces backward out of the room, grabs his keys off the sideboard, and slams out of the apartment. “Eli. Eli, wait!” I call out with no response, only the echo of my voice.

This is what we were all trying to avoid.

I race out and grab my phone from my dance bag, texting Wes two words that I hope he gets quickly.

He knows…

Elijah

Merlin is Hayley. Hayley is Merlin.

How was I the last to know? Why was I the last to know?

I know why. He’s a fucking coward. My sister, for the first time in her life, decided not to trust me. Even my wife was in the know. Hayley is in love with the idea of love. If it wasn’t apparent with her obsession over Austen and Bronte, she has come to more contemporary notions as of late.

I don’t want to imagine the things she does or likes to have done to her with any random man I don’t know, but then to have it be my best friend sets this on another level.

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