Page 2 of Forbid Me
“I’m sorry,” I tell him, to which he furrows his brow.
“Why are you sorry?” he asks.
“Because I should have told you when I found out last week.” My bottom lip wobbles as I speak, an action not gone unnoticed by Trav.
“Char, I’ve seen the change in you since you’ve been with Ryder, I even tried to talk to you about it, but you always changed the subject, cut me off or made an excuse to leave—”
“I know, and I hate myself for it,” I admit, cutting him off. I’ve known Travis for as long as I’ve known Ryder, and before me and Ryder became a thing, me and Trav were inseparable. Always together. He was my best friend for a long time, but in the last two years, we’ve grown further apart, something I’ve always hated but did because Ryder thought it was inappropriate that I spend so much time with Trav. God, what a moron I’ve been.
“Stop that,” Travis says, his tone firm. “It stops, now, Charlie.” Charlie. He’s the only one that’s ever called me that, everyone else calling me Char, Lotte, or Charlotte. And at this moment, I never realised how much I missed hearing him saying it… until now.
His eyes are beautiful, always have been, but I’d trained myself to forget. To forget how I’ve always loved Travis, always thought him the one that got away, always thought him to be the most beautiful guy I’ve ever seen. And I always kept him in the friend zone, because I was scared to do anything else, to put myself out there for him to possibly shoot me down and for our friendship to be ruined. Turns out, Ryder ruined the bond we had anyway… or did he? Because Travis is looking at me now with a different look in his eyes than anything I can remember. I’m not sure what, but maybe I’m so fucking damaged from Ryder’s putdowns that I have no idea how to read people anymore.
“I know you’re worried about breaking it off with him, but fuck, Char, you shouldn’t be, because you’re worth so much more than Ryder fucking Reynolds.” His words make me want to cry, touching somewhere deep inside of me, but that voice that tells me I’m not good enough rears its head and pushes the feeling away, dispelling any hope that briefly bloomed.
“I just… I’m not strong enough, Travis. I’m not the girl I used to be,” I whisper, knowing that Travis will keep this between us, whatever happens. He’s not one to spill secrets or fuck with people’s emotions, and the fact Melanie has shit on him as Ryder has shit on me makes me so sad.
Travis finally lets go of my hand but places both of his on the tops of my arms, gently squeezing me. “You are strong, and I’m going to be by you every step of the way.”
“But you’re Ryder’s best friend—”
“Was. I was Ryder’s best friend, and I never should have been.”
“I don’t know what to do, Trav. I don’t know how to deal with the fallout, because I’m a coward.”
A knock outside the door has us both startling, but then laughter rings out as footsteps scurry on by.
“I’ll come to yours tonight,” he says.
“What?”
“I’ll climb in the window, like old times,” he tells me, and my mind flits back to when he would jump over the fence of my backyard and climb the trellis until he stood on the extension roof to get to my window. “We better go, lunch will almost be over.” And before I can respond, he’s grabbing my hand again and opening the door, checking up and down the hallway before he’s pulling me out behind him and saying, “Leave your window open and I’ll be there by eight o’clock.” And then he’s gone, leaving me standing in the hallway wondering what the fuck just happened, but also leaving me feeling like I just got my best friend back.
Chapter Three
TRAVIS
The fucking damage Ryder has done is far worse than I ever realised. Charlie is sat opposite me on her bed, her head down, her eyes pinned to the duvet, and her self-confidence in fucking tatters. I could beat the shit out of him for that alone.
“Charlie, look at me,” I tell her, needing to see the spark that used to reside in her eyes come back to life. She gingerly lifts her head, her sad eyes connecting with mine, and I hate that I let this happen in the first place. I should have done more, intervened and fucking fought for her, but instead, I stepped back, unwilling to risk our friendship by telling her that I’ve loved her for years. Fucking idiot.
“Don’t let the actions of one guy plague you for the rest of your life.” I speak gently, letting emotion into my voice but keeping the anger I feel at bay. Because I do feel anger that she’s gone from radiant and full of life to suppressed and unsure.
“It’s hard after two years of being beaten down with words,” she whispers, those tears pooling in her eyes and making my fucking heart break.
I reach over and take her hand in mine as I sit across from her on the bed, both of our legs crossed, a pose we used to do often when I’d sneak up here and we’d talk for hours until I snuck back home.
If there was ever a person for me, it’s her, and I’m going to do my best to make her see just how special she is.
“How about we fuck with them a little first?” I say, and she looks at me questioningly. “I mean, neither of us have broke it off with them yet, so what if we have a little fun as we watch them get their comeuppance?” I wouldn’t usually do this, but fuck, the slight spark of excitement I see in her golden-coloured eyes is worth it.
“Like what?” she asks. Yes, Trav, like what?
“Well, you ever wondered what itching powder in someone’s sports kit is like?” I say, wanting to keep the tone light and bring her out of her shell.
“I can honestly say that it’s never crossed my mind, but now that you mention it…” The small smile appearing on her mouth has my dick twitching. Shit, don’t do that, she’s not ready to hear what I have to tell her yet.
“I guess tomorrow is going to be an interesting day then,” I say, and her quiet chuckle does nothing to stop my dick from twitching again.
