Page 95 of Crushed By Love

Something this devastating.

But it’s not my business. It’s in the past, my aunt obviously forgave my uncle, Sybil broke up with Ethan, and everyone has moved on. I should too.

“That has nothing to do with me,” I manage.

I can tell Ethan wants to say more, that he wants to go off about what terrible people the Laurences are, but he doesn’t. He stays quiet, eyes searching mine. It’s like he’s trying to convey a hidden message, like he expects me to understand, to side with him, to say and do the right thing. But I can’t. I never could.

The moment stretches between us like a live-wire dragging me into his gaze and sparking something deep within me. All of a sudden it’s like I’m right back to where I was two summers ago, right back to wanting him, maybe even loving him. Ethan is electric and I have to get away fast. I’ve removed myself from him before and I can do it again.

I will do it again.

“Goodbye Ethan,” I say, and then I duck under his arm and walk away.

With each step I take I should be feeling lighter, more free. Empowered.

But I don’t feel anything but heartache.

And I’m filled with the kind of questions that require an answer, the kind that I suspect will take hold of me and refuse to let go even long after I find out the truth.

I’m almost back to the party when I spot Sybil and Cooper up ahead on the docks. “It’s none of your fucking business,” she is saying. She sounds rushed and heated—not like herself. I know that voice, but I don’t know that tone. I’ve never heard my cousin talk this way to anyone.

I approach cautiously, my hackles on full alert. Cooper is as handsome as he ever was, but his hair is shorter and his jaw is cut in a sharper line than it used to be. He’s grown into his face even more somehow, becoming devastating in the process. His scathing glare is directed at Sybil. I don’t recognize this level of anger on him. This isn’t the guy I used to know but maybe this is the man he’s become.

A pang of sadness overwhelms me as I watch him. Where’s the fun-loving, easy-going, devil-may-care playboy from two summers ago? This Cooper is intense. He’s dark. He’s … like Ethan.

Defensiveness for my cousin takes over, the mama-bear in me coming out with claws and teeth, and I stride right up to the pair.

“Are you okay?” I direct my question at Sybil but they both answer with a quick, “We’re fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” I fold my arms over my chest and shift to stand between them. Cooper tears his gaze from Sybil. They rake over me with no inhibitions. His intense perusal of me makes me squirm.

What happened to Cooper?

“This is a new look,” he says coolly.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Just that you’re different. I didn’t say it was bad. Maybe it’s a good thing.”

I’m not sure if he’s referring to my outfit or my attitude or just being with Sybil, maybe it’s all three. Or maybe he thinks it’s funny that I’m getting between two people who are taller than me. Does he find it amusing or am I sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong?

Sybil grabs my hand from behind and squeezes. “I was looking for you. We’re leaving.”

She marches us back to the party, hellbent on getting as far away from Cooper King as possible. I peer back at him, trying to understand what just happened. His hands are stuffed into his suit pockets and his dark eyes are jumping from me to my cousin and back again. He seems to be debating something, and when our gazes lock he makes up his mind. He catches up to us and Sybil practically growls her frustration.

“I should’ve realized you were related to the Laurences the first time I saw you, Arden,” he says apologetically. “I can’t believe I chalked it up to coincidence. You two look even more alike in person.”

“Like I said,” Sybil shoots back at him. “It’s none of your business.”

He ignores her, still intent on talking to me. “You should’ve called me. At least when you met her and learned the truth about everything, you could have picked up the phone. We don’t have to hate each other just because our parents were idiots.”

“Are you kidding? Am I forgetting the part where you gave me your number? Oh, that’s right, you didn’t. You pulled that frosty cold-shoulder bullshit on me for weeks before you left. Even if I could have called you, I wouldn’t have.”

Sybil whips around on him, dropping my hand and practically punching his chest. He’s an iron wall but she’s a bulldozer. “And actually, you should have called me. The second Arden walked into your house and you saw the resemblance you should have called me. But you didn’t, did you? I had to find out from my parents months after you guys met her.”

“So I guess we’re even,” he growls.

She shakes her head. “We’re not even. We’re not anything.”

---