Page 148 of Between the Lines

“Do you think less of me for it?” She pulls back, her voice fierce despite the question. There are tears sliding down her cheeks, and I feel like I’ve been stabbed, seeing them.

I wipe one of the wet trails off with my thumb, dragging the pad across her silky smooth skin. She’s crying silently, but her eyes are defiant. “Of course I don’t think less of you.”

“Most people do.”

“Most people are fucking idiots,” I say.

She blinks twice, rapidly. “It was such a stupid thing of me to have done.”

“You were young.”

“Other young people go to war or… or… release amazing music. I did this.” More tears track down her face, and I pull her tightly against me. We end up in the middle of the couch, with her lying on my chest and my arms wrapped around her.

I feel the wetness of her tears through my shirt. “I’m sorry,” I mutter against her temple. “I’m going to make it right.”

“It’s not your fault,” she whispers.

“Yes, it is.” I kiss away the saltiness of her tears. “That show should never have aired.”

“The editing made me look like such an idiot. And Blake? He came out on top.”

“I know.”

“There was so much more that wasn’t shown, you know?” She presses her forehead to my collarbone, her hands still fist the fabric of my shirt. “I got the villain edit, the bad edit, whatever you want to call it.”

“You couldn’t have known,” I say. “Don’t beat yourself up for decisions you made at nineteen.”

She pushes up on her elbow, and her tear-stained eyes are lit with fire. “How can I not? It’s all that will ever come up when people search for my name. Even if I get my editor to approve my plans for the book, even if I somehow get it published… This will always haunt me. And I could have avoided all of it if I had just beensmarter.”

I sweep back a tendril of her hair. The frustration in her gaze spears me, and I know I’m unworthy of holding her. Of being the man she chooses to spend her nights with when I’m responsible for the pain she’s living with.

“Youaresmart,” I tell her. “You’re funny, witty, and well-read. You’re a beautiful writer. And you have a past that makes you interesting and complicated. I know how it’s like to live withregrets. But Chaos, who makes it through life without a single one?”

“People smarter than me,” she murmurs. Her hand glides to my neck, and her short nails scrape the scruff under my jaw.

“If you’re going to be mad at anyone,” I say, “it should be me. Not yourself.”

She traces a finger down my Adam’s apple. “I know,” she murmurs. “But that’s getting harder and harder to do.”

SOCIAL MEDIA

Ten years ago

@PurpleGirl3000:OMG, that scene was hilarious. I was waiting for her to figure out she wasn’t all that. The way Sugar Puff was lording her relationship over the others. As if Blake was a catch!

@Caffeinated4ever:Is it bad that my boyfriend and I have started calling each other Sugar Puff now? It started as a joke but now we legit can’t stop. Embarrassing LOL.

@T-Rexoperator:I’m SO glad Sugar P is gone. The high horse she was on was getting old! Becky knows how to have fun. Glad she and Blake finally coupled up.

@Inkedvoyage:HAHAHA, I can’t stop laughing. That British accent was SO BAD. Wouldn’t want to be her today. Or tomorrow, to be honest.

CHAPTER 53

CHARLOTTE

The too-big house is empty when I wake up the next morning. My steps echo on the hardwood floors, and I lean against his kitchen island as I drink my morning coffee, watching the city beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows.

He slept in my bed with me last night. Just slept. Held me even after my tears dried. He was gone when I woke up, but left me a note on my bedside table.Take the day off.

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