Page 22 of The Fall

Her eyes widened as she looked at me like I had grown another head.

“I don’t speak Spanish, Martin,” she snapped, irritated.

“And it’s a good damn thing,” I said, pretending my feet were made of solid rock as I kept them planted. Right or wrong, I wanted her, all of her. My anger at the situation rolled off me and landed on her. She gaped at me.

I’d been a fool to think this would turn out differently. Masked feelings were dangerous, and we were both at the end of our rope.

She waited for me to do anything, say anything, and I purposely failed.

“See you later…brother.” She dashed away from me, and I went to follow her, but Daisy blocked my path with tears in her eyes. I felt guilty for the way I’d treated her and tried to calm her. I couldn’t fucking win. Leaving Daisy with a group of friends, I searched the party for Dallas but came up empty.

I circled the house and banged on every door, barging into every single room, and was met with vicious protest. Still coming up empty, I began to panic. She was drunk, and she was angry.

After searching everywhere, I cornered Tina Walker, who was only too happy to inform me that Dallas had left with Reiner.

“What the hell?” I said, dialing her cell.

“They’ve been dating for a month,” one of the girls at the counter piped up.

I swallowed hard.

Oh, fuck no.

She had been dating him for a month? How the hell had I missed that? I felt the bile rise up my throat. I was a hypocrite. I had no right to be acting that way. I was a man possessed as I questioned everyone in our circle, and no one had a clue where they were. Reiner had left his own fucking party. I quickly drove Daisy home and spent the entire night searching for them in vain. I ended up waiting at Reiner’s house long after the party ended, alone and sitting on his porch as he pulled up.

It was no secret between us how I felt about her, and deep down, I knew he felt the same. She had been a silent tug-of-war between us this year, and I knew he thought he’d won. He got out of his truck, a smug smile on his face as he approached. That was all it took.

I used my fists to drown out each painful tear of my heart. Reiner matched me blow for blow as we exhausted each other until we were both panting on the grass, bloodied and aching.

He said nothing as he stood up to retreat to his house. There was nothing to say.

She didn’t attend another party up to the day I graduated. She made herself scarce at school. I caught her once sitting in the stands after track. When I spotted her, she purposefully made her way down the bleachers and left before I had a chance to catch up with her.

Whether I’d made a move on her or not didn’t matter anymore. Either way, I was losing her.

The day I graduated, I spotted her chatting with my parents before she made her way to her car. I quickly walked past my waiting parents to catch up with her.

“Dallas,” I said urgently as she scurried to her car, speeding up when she heard my voice. She got in, ignoring me. I leaned against her car with a sigh and rapped my knuckles on her window as she shook her head. I stood there like a jackass.

“Open the fucking door, Dallas,” I said, losing my patience. I was leaving for Spain in the morning to spend the summer with my parents—as I did every year. I’d planned on stopping by her house but was surprised to see her here, grateful for the chance to say goodbye.

“No!” she shouted, starting her car.

“Open the door!” I yelled, getting the attention of everyone in the parking lot. She lowered her window, and I reached past her and grabbed her keys from the ignition.

“Congrats,” she snapped as she moved to stop me, her voice dripping with anger and hurt. “I hate you. I really do. We were best friends, and you just dropped me for being as promiscuous like you.”

“Dally, get out of the car.”

“Forget it. I hope you have a nice life,” she said, her voice shaking. “Give me my keys,” she ordered as she exited the car, refusing to look at me. She opened her hand, and I pulled mine out of reach, gripping them tightly.

“Not until we talk,” I said firmly.

“Fine, I’ll walk!” she shrieked, causing more eyes to wander our way.

“Stop it. Here are your damn keys. You want to act like a baby, fine,” I huffed in frustration, holding them out to her.

“You are the worst best friend I’ve ever had!” she declared, ripping them out of my grip.

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