Page 38 of Inseverable (Carolina Beach)

Hunter leans in. “Maybe with time, we can all be friends again. It would be nice to hang out, don’t you think?” he asks.

He adds what appears to be an inviting wink, like it will somehow seal the deal. His smile loses its luster as does Blakeney’s when it occurs to them I’m not smiling back.

“I didn’t say anything about being friends,” I say quietly. “I can forgive you, because I want to be a good person. But being a good person doesn’t make me a doormat.” I slip out of the booth and stand. “Y‘all have a good night.”

“I expected more from you, Trin,” Hunter says, halting me before I take my first step.

“Judging by your ‘come fuck me eyes’ I figured as much,” I answer sweetly.

His jaw drops, but he doesn’t try to deny it.

Despite my light tone, and despite that it was a right good comeback, I have a lot of emotion I need to release. But I won’t release it in front of them. No. These two have seen the last of my tears.

I head straight back through the double doors leading out to the deck. Hale snags my wrist as I pass him. “You all right?”

I grin although he can see right through it. “I’m fine. Just going for a walk.”

He raises his brows. “Now?”

“I need a moment,” I admit.

My splintering tone is subtle, but he hears it anyway. He releases my hand. “All right,” he says. “Don’t be long.”

I nod the way women do when they’re trying to keep from crying and walk cautiously past him, ignoring how everyone at our table trains their eyes on me. As casually as I can, I hop down the rear steps and onto the beach. The moment I feel the grains of soft sand slide between my toes, I can’t seem to move fast enough. I slip off my flip flops and shoot toward the left, keeping the ocean to my right. If I keep going, I’ll eventually reach Callahan’s place. And if I walk far enough, I’ll reach the post where I keep watch.

Those old wounds tore right open when I saw them, even though I thought I was long past the way they’d treated me.

The cool Atlantic water splashes along my legs. In an effort to relax, I pause to take in how the moon’s reflection dances along the waves. It’s beautiful, breathtaking even. The problem is, I’m so full of pent up emotions, lovely imagery does nothing to settle my nerves. Nor does the soft summer breeze sending my hair sailing behind me offer reprieve.

Blakeney never saw my pain when the boys ignored me to seek out her and Becca. For all the times I wiped her tears, she never seemed to notice mine. She didn’t care that I was always the one without a date. In fact, if it wasn’t for Hale asking me to prom, I wouldn’t have gone at all. Something Blakeney never stopped to consider.

Hunter . . . when it comes to him, I feel more foolish than brokenhearted. At least now. He made me feel special, that much is true. But when I think back, it was always when he thought his pretty talk and that wink he practiced in front of the mirror every time he fussed with his hair, would get him something in return.

To him, I was that cute, polite young woman from a good family he could bring home to his momma—the smart one who smiled and said all the right things. Much to his delight, I was also the woman who never denied him sex, driven to please him anyway he wanted.

I roll my eyes. Too bad that pleasing wasn’t reciprocated.

A thought occurs to me as I thread my fingers through my hair. Regardless of what they did, and how badly it affected me, something really good came of it.

I met Callahan.

If I was still seeing Hunter, I never would have flirted with him, much less kissed him. In fact, I would have missed out on every moment I’ve shared with him.

How is it possible I’m only meeting this amazing man now—when I have such little time left?—And how is it fair that I’m getting to know him here, when I could be halfway across the globe in another two months?

I glance over my shoulder. Your Mother’s is roughly the size of an M&M from where I stand, and if I’m right, I’ve already passed Callahan’s place. I didn’t realize how far I’d walked until now. While I think I should head back, my skin continues to prickle with too much negative energy, and way too much angst.

It was an awful day that had taken a turn for worse. But as the waves continue to drench my shins, I’m reminded that my days on Kiawah are numbered. I kick at the water, wanting desperately to shake my sadness away in order to return to Callahan and my friends with a smile. I hope he’ll tell me where he’s been. So then maybe I can admit how much I missed him in the time he was gone.

I strip out of my clothes and toss them far from the water’s edge. With a determined sigh, I race into the ocean and dive in, ready to cleanse my body of all the lingering pain that soils it.

What I never imagined as I broke through the surface and pumped my arms along the waves, was that the pain I’m feeling would benothingcompared to the agony that ultimately followed.

Chapter Twelve

Callahan

I don’t know who this dipshit is, or the blonde he sauntered in with who flashed me a plastic smile. But I heard enough from Trin’s friends, and recognized the hurt in her eyes to figure out what went down between them. It’s one thing for someone you care about to cheat on you. It’s another thing to have that someone cheat with a person you think is your friend.

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