Page 148 of When The Night Falls

He was silent for such a long time that I dared another glance at him. The sight stabbed into my gut, filling me with pain. He looked so wounded.

‘You lied to me,’ he said, and he sounded so bitter that I winced.

‘I’m so sorry.’ My voice broke. ‘I didn’t want you to worry.’

‘You didn’t want me to worry? What kind of bullshit excuse is that? I’d definitely prefer to know that you’re about to fuck another guy.’

‘I’m not!’ I met his eyes, hoping my sincerity permeated my gaze. ‘It’s not what it looks like.’

‘Oh, really?’ He lowered one brow, making his scepticism loud and clear. ‘Then please explain what’s actually going on here.’

‘It’s complicated, but we planned ages ago that he would sleep at mine so that Tyler and his girlfriend could have the flat to themselves.’

‘So then why didn’t you tell me?’ He leaned back and gestured to me, maddened.

‘Because I’d completely forgotten about it! I only remembered when he called me after you’d left earlier.’

He shook his head. ‘That changes absolutely nothing. “Too tired to meet up” my fucking arse,’ he spat. ‘You knew when you wrote that text that he was coming home with you.’

My eyebrows curved and my lips quivered. Remorse clawed inside my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

‘Will, I really am so sorry. I just didn’t want you to assume wrong. I was going to tell you next time I saw you.’

He looked away, glaring at the front door with clenched teeth. Was he considering whether to leave? My heart palpitated at the mere thought, my throat tightening.

‘Will,’ I said, and my voice had a pleading tone. ‘I swear I wasn’t going to sleep with him. I was going to take Jason’s bed.’

He shook his head again. ‘How do I know you aren’t just telling a lie right now because you were caught red-handed?’

Tears brimmed in my eyes, obscuring my sight. I didn’t know what to say. How could I make him believe me?

Staring at him, I could feel him slipping from my grasp, and it was agonising. His demeanour radiated mistrust, his features spilling with wariness as he retreated a pace.

I had really fucked up.

‘You lie and you lie, Cara, and I’ve had enough of it.’ A thick layer of resentment swelled in his eyes, but it was the unmistakable vulnerability shining through that made my heart ache. He looked completely shattered.

‘What do you want me to say?’ My voice wobbled. ‘How can I prove that I’m being honest?’

‘I don’t know,’ he said, his face twisting with pain.

Agitated, I gestured to the corner Aaron had disappeared behind. ‘Do you really think I’d be so stupid as to sleep with Aaron tonight when I live with your brother?’

He pressed his lips together, and I saw a vague spark of forgiveness in his eyes. My argument had pushed him closer to believing the truth.

‘It’s not like I would have been able to hide it from him,’ I said, striving to bring him all the way there. ‘He would have come home and seen Aaron’s shoes in the hall, and he would have confronted me about it.’

‘And you could have denied it.’

‘To what end?’ I gesticulated. ‘One way or another, Jason would have told you that Aaron slept here. But if things had happened the way I intended, Jason would have found me in his own bed tonight, so he would have known that I didn’t have sex with him. And in the morning, he would hear that I had ended things with Aaron because I want to be with you.’ I wiped my cheeks, sniffing. ‘I know I’ve made mistakes, Will, but not this time. Things may not look right, but I’m telling the truth.’

‘Are you really ending things with him, though?’ he asked sceptically.

‘Of course I am. You’re the only one that I want.’

He swallowed, but I could tell by his stare that he still wasn’t convinced. I turned my face to the ceiling, exhaling deeply through my mouth.

Lowering my head again, I said, ‘The only reason I haven’t ended things with him yet is that I didn’t want to ruin his night. I was trying to be considerate of him and Tyler, especially since it was Tyler’s birthday. But I wish I hadn’t. If I had prioritised myself, we would have avoided this. But it was his best friend’s birthday, so it just seemed like it could wait a day.’

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