Page 59 of Fracture

Her eyes widen with alarm, and she scrambles off me. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry.”

“Don’t be. It was worth it.”

It’s while we’re in the shower that I stare down at her, at this woman I love, and the gutting feeling comes back. The realization that I need to tell the truth before she gets in even deeper. I wash her gently, and she sighs.

“Stella, I have to tell you something.”

“Mmm?”

Five. Four. Three.I count down to the moment when I know I’ll lose her. I count down these precious seconds of her skin being against mine. I’m about to ruin everything, right when I had it all.

But the truth is stinging in my chest, and I need to get it out.

Two. One.

“I slept with Levi.”

CHAPTER 13

STELLA

Zee’s faceis frantic as they walk into the restaurant, eyebrows lifting as their eyes land on me and they rush between the tables towards me.

“Girl, what the fuck is going on?” They ask, grabbing me in a hug before they sit down beside me. “Dylan and Levi have been blowing up my phone, they almost called the fucking cops because they didn’t know where you were, and now you’re calling me and asking me to dinner, and my fucking god, what happened?”

“Nothing, nothing bad, I promise.”

Their eyebrows shoot up. “Nothingbad?They’ve had me running around town looking for you becausenothing badhappened?”

I take a deep breath. “I just had to get out and clear my head, and I needed to talk to you.”

“Well, I’m right here.” Zee leans their crossed arms on the table, their face still twisted with concern. “Anything you need to tell me, I’m right here.”

I take a sip of my water, trying to order my thoughts and figure out where exactly in this whole mess I need to start.

“I had sex with Dylan,” I tell them.

They stay silent, watching me with a neutral face. Finally they nod, and shrug. “OK. Was it… not good?” Their eyes widen, and they reach out to take my hand. “Did he hurt you?”

“No, no, nothing like that. It was… It was really good. Probably the best sex I’ve had.”

Zee’s face is instantly a picture of relief, followed by confusion. “Girl, I don’t want to push you here, but Dylan was freaking the fuck out, and Levi didn’t sound much better. You’re telling me you had the best sex of your life and then ran away?”

“Dylan and Levi had sex.”

Zee leans back in their chair, eyes wide, jaw dropping. “Levi, as in… No. No way.”

“Yes way.” I clench my eyes shut. “Oh god, this is so messy.”

“Yeah, you can say that again. Why the fuck would Dylan cheat on you? With your stepbrother? With his best friend? I mean…?” Zee trails off, putting a hand to their forehead. “My head hurts, goddamn.”

I put my hands to my head. “There’s more.”

“More?”

I drop my hands from my face and grab Zee’s hand. “Please, just let me talk. I need to get this out.”

“Go ahead. I’m listening.”

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