Page 8 of Always Right

Liar.

She raised an eyebrow, her mask firm, though I could see the cracks forming when a hint of pain shone through her eyes. “Like that will fix everything? You think it’ll numb the pain? Help everyone forget the damage?”

“Of course not. It’s a start though.”

Hannah shook her head as a quiet scoff escaped her lips.

“You have some nerve, showing up, pretending like nothing happened. Like we all owe you a chance back in our lives. It’s bullshit, Derek. You’re full of bullshit.”

Ah, the bitterness in her words stung, but I took it, glad that the rage was there. Something was better than nothing.

“I’m not asking for a chance back into your life,” I said, taking a step toward her. Her eyes widened, full of an emotion I couldn’t place. Her walls weren’t sturdy, I could see it. But I wouldn’t tear them down. Not yet. “I’m saying I’m sorry.”

She let out a shaky breath, a glimpse of pain flashing in her expression. She was there, somewhere, the Hannah I knew. The Hannah that trusted me. I wasn’t sure where the hell she kept her, but she was there, hiding.

Scared.

I continued, walking to her and stood in front of her, gaze unwavering. We were a hand width apart, her quiet breaths filling the air, her eyes looking up at me with a swirl of emotions she didn’t even understand, but she didn’t step away.

“I’m sorry for accusing you of betraying me again. I’m sorry for accusing you of stealing. I know it wasn’t you. I know it was wrong, and I’m fucking sorry for hurting you. I never meant to do it but clearly, I still had some unresolved issues just beneath the surface...it’s not an excuse, but like you once said, we’re products of our environment.”

Her lip quivered, her eyes shone with tears and finally, she looked away, blinking rapidly as she took a step back. I watched her as she tried to hold herself together. She didn’t say anything for minutes, hours perhaps, and all I could do was watch her.

“So what?” Her attention turned to me again, the cracks in her armor visible, but the damn thing was still there. “Forgive and forget?”

“Or in your case forgive and move on.” I stunned her again. She shook her head, biting her bottom lip as her hands fidgeted with the sleeves of her long sleeve shirt. “You can move on, Hannah. You should. That way you don’t have to pretend to be the woman standing in front of me with her guard up.”

She scoffed. “I don’t have my guard up.”

“Of course you do. You forget how well I know you.”

“You don’t know me.”

“Sure I do. That’s why I know this is all an act and inside you’re breaking. Inside you’re not angry but hurt. Pretend all you want. I know you like the palm of my fucking hand. I know you better than you know yourself.”

Her lip curled. “Well congratulations. Do you need a prize? An award? Because I don’t have one for you. I have nothing for you.”

It was my turn to look at her in disbelief. The woman had buttons and I just pushed a whole lot of them, igniting a fire in her that would scorch us both.

“Take your apologies, Derek. I don’t need them. I don’t want them.”

“You sure as hell deserve them, though. And I’m man enough to admit it.”

Her jaw clenched. I wanted to fuck the anger out of her, then remind her how much I loved her. If she let me I would, but she was too damn proud. Too fucking hurt.

“Stay away from me, Derek.” Her words were quiet. A whisper that carried through the air and sucked the breath out of my lungs.

“As you wish,” I bit out.

“I’m serious. You and I—we’re nothing. We have nothing together. Never should have. We were a disaster in the making, from the time we met all those years ago.”

I ran a hand through my hair, gripping at the ends, hoping the goddamn tightness in my chest would disappear but it didn’t. It amplified as she continued.

“I’m glad you’re sober, Derek. But I’ve started a life without you in it, and I would like to keep it that way. You have no part in it now, so thanks for apologizing, but I don’t want to hear it. Just stay away from me. Pretend I don’t exist. Walk away like you did that day. Erase me from your memory like I erased you from mine.”

I scoffed. “Looks to me like you’re the one full of bullshit. If you’d erased me from your memory, you wouldn’t be here.”

She was fighting. I could see it, and Hannah wasn’t one to give up. But she walked to the sofa, picking her purse and headed straight to the door. She was going to leave just as fast as she arrived, but I wouldn’t let her. I still had one more thing to say, one more question to ask.

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